


Vampire's Tale 3, A:  Blood Red Rose

by spookyawards_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: M/M, Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-07-26
Updated: 2003-07-26
Packaged: 2019-04-27 06:03:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14419206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookyawards_archivist/pseuds/spookyawards_archivist
Summary: Gareth and Krycek discover a vampire creating a legion of blood drinkers with a vile plan, forcing Gareth to unwillingly assume the mantle of 'King of the Vampires'.





	Vampire's Tale 3, A:  Blood Red Rose

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Spooky Awards](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Spooky_Awards), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [SpookyAwards' collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/spookyawards/profile).

 

A Vampire's Tale 3: Blood Red Rose

## A Vampire's Tale 3: Blood Red Rose

### by Donnilee
    
    
    TITLE:      A VAMPIRE'S TALE 3: BLOOD RED ROSE
    AUTHOR:     Donnilee
    WEBSITE:    <http://donnilee.tripod.com>
    RATING:     NC-17
    

CATEGORY: MSR - Kr/Other-Slash.  
SUMMARY: Gareth and Krycek discover a vampire creating a legion of blood drinkers with a vile plan, forcing Gareth to unwillingly assume the mantle of 'King of the Vampires'.  
SPOILERS: Uh, nope.  
Takes place near the end of Season 7. Mulder was abducted but Requiem didn't happen.  
DISCLAIMER: I have a list of people to blame for my perversions, so let's not go there. Oh, you mean the characters herein? Nope. Not mine. Used shamelessly and without remorse. They belong to Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen, and Fox Broadcasting. DEDICATION: This one has to go to Fran Hartman and Xochiluvr who spent so much time correcting my feaux paux and making sure everything "lined up". Thanks for all your time and hard work! THANKS: To my beta reader, Fran Hartman for breaking out the red pencil like she does so well. 

WARNING: Here there be M/M slash between Krycek and a secondary character. There be M&S horizontal mambo too. If this isn't your cup of  
tea, you can skip those parts. I've rated each chapter AND marked the beginning of the descriptive sex, so that you can tell which chapters contain the descriptive sex and skip over them if you wish. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This a sequel to "Steeped in Blood", and "Trail of Blood", A Vampire's Tale 1 and 2 respectively. You could read this one on its own, but I would love it if you read the first two beforehand. If you didn't, you need to know that Mulder and Scully are lovers now. There's a new Deputy Director, Kendall Fair, whose real name is Gareth and is a vampire. He is also Alex Krycek's lover and maker, as he is a vampire too. 

Synopsis of VT1: Alex is made a vampire. D.D. Fair manipulates M&S into an investigation that leaves them owing Alex their lives after a narrow escape from a rogue blood drinker. They return to D.C. Alex continues to learn of his abilities and how to control them. When Kersh  
disappears, Skinner is promoted to Deputy Director. 

Synopsis of VT2: M&S investigate D.D. Fair and find some disturbing information. They end up witnessing a vampiric battle between Gareth and an old time enemy, Zebrosia, in which Alex again saves Scully's life. Gareth (D.D. Fair) is revealed as the head of the _New_ Consortium whose agenda is X-Files friendly and alien colonization unfriendly. Protection is traded for silence. The story ends with a new murder, much like the ones before the Zebrosia battle, which Alex and Gareth claim were not by their hand. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

**PART 1 (PG-13)**  
**FOX MULDER'S APARTMENT**  
**ALEXANDRIA, VA**  
**FRIDAY EVENING**

I stared at the bright pink Post It Note that was on the small table next to Mulder's phone. '435-9923. AK' was written on it. It was Alex Krycek's cell phone number. 

"Do you really think someone's out there?" I asked Mulder as we gazed out the window down onto the street in front of his building. The bare street light cast a harsh glow on the wet pavement. We could see nothing beyond the circle of light that was cast by that lone street light. 

Mulder stood behind me, his chest pressed lightly to my back, his arms wrapped  
around me from behind, his hands piled on top of mine. He set his chin on my head and sighed. "I don't know, Scully, but I have a bad feeling. I know this street like the back of my hand. And there were four street lights on this block that were operational when I got home tonight. Now there's only one, and its globe is broken. Someone killed those lights." 

"It could be neighborhood vandals." 

"Possible," he said, but he didn't sound convinced. 

"What makes you think it's this rogue?" 

"I don't know. I've just had the creeps ever since I got home. I was nervous just watching you walk into the building." 

"You really don't think Krycek or Gareth killed these people? You're sure we are really looking for a different killer?" 

"No, I don't think it was them. That much I'm sure of . I wish I could pinpoint it, but I can't. I just KNOW someone was in this apartment." 

"It could just be your natural paranoia," I said lightly, trying to ease the mood. 

"Could be. Do we take the risk that it is?" 

His decision was clear. I sighed and took the hand set out of the cradle, dialing the phone as I held it close to my chest. His hands remained on my stomach as I extracted mine to make the phone call. 

Eep, eep, eep, pause, eep, eep, eep, eep. I listened to the annoying sound of his touch tone phone. I held it to my ear as it rang. It was answered on the second ring. 

[Yes?] No 'hello', no 'this is so and so', just a brief clipped greeting. I knew that damn thing had caller ID. 

"Krycek?" I asked softly, remembering his assertion that these creatures  
had incredible hearing. 

[Dana, what's up?] 

"I'm not sure, but I'm at Mulder's." 

[I know. I saw the number,] he replied, confirming caller ID. 

"Lights have been knocked out on Mulder's street, three out of four of them, and the fourth one has been vandalized too, but is still working." 

[Punks in the neighborhood?] he suggested. 

"We thought of that, but something doesn't feel right." 

[What do you mean?] 

"I feel stupid." 

[Don't,] he said firmly. [Just tell me.] 

"The lights were on when Mulder got home. When I arrived a half hour later they were out. As I came in the building, I thought..." 

[Thought what?] he encouraged. 

"I thought someone was watching me. It was just a feeling. But then I got inside and Mulder says he's been creeped out since he got home, feeling like something was lurking, watching him. He doesn't see anything out of place, but he feels like someone was in the apartment earlier. I know this sounds ridiculous." 

[Don't be so quick to discount intuition, Dana. Especially Mulder's.] It irritated me when he called me Dana, but then again, I was calling for  
help so I couldn't exactly get pissy with him. He'd saved my life twice in the last two months. I hated feeling like I owed him for that. 

"Well, we've watched for about a half an hour and seen nothing, but ... I don't know. Something isn't right, Krycek, and now we're getting paranoid." 

He was silent for a few moments and I wondered if he was talking with Gareth. Excuse me, D.D. Kendall Fair, as he was known in this lifetime. Fairly quickly he said, [Lock the doors and windows, check all the closets and sit tight. We're on our way. Don't open the door to anyone but us and for God's sake, don't leave the apartment. We'll check out the area. Gareth will know if he's within a mile of the place.] 

I cleared my throat. "Thanks, Krycek." 

[No problem. I'll call you.] He hung up abruptly and I heard the dial tone moan in my ear. I replaced the hand set in the cradle and leaned back into Mulder again. 

"What did he say?" 

"They're on their way to check out the area. He said sit tight, lock the windows and door and check the closets." 

Mulder chuckled, as that had been exactly what we'd done as soon as I arrived. Mulder turned from me and looked up at the smoke detector in the center of the living room. 

"What is it?" 

"I've been filmed from up there before. Maybe that's why I feel like I'm being watched. Christ, he could be watching us right now, from right up there." 

"Do you know who lives there now?" 

"I think it's empty." 

"That's never a good thing." 

He nodded absently. "Maybe I should go up and check." 

"No!" I said with more vehemence than I meant to. 

He turned to look at me. 

"Don't leave me alone in here, Mulder. You've got me totally spooked now. Besides, if he is out there, you don't want to make yourself a target by leaving this apartment. Krycek specifically said not to leave  
the apartment." 

"I have my weapon," he said, not sounding horribly confident. 

"And we both know how much that slows them down," I said, giving him a significant look. 

"Not much," he admitted. "But it does slow them down." 

"Don't risk it, Mulder. When Krycek calls back, we'll have him check it  
out." 

He gave me a pained look. 

"What?" I asked. 

He shook his head as if to say it was nothing. 

"No, Mulder, none of that. What's bothering you?" 

"It's stupid." 

"Tell me anyway," I urged, stepping into him and embracing him. 

His arms wound around me again and he sighed. "I just hate relying on Alex Krycek. I know it's stupid. Whatever his past, he certainly seems to bear us no ill will now." 

"But?" I countered, knowing there was more to this. 

He almost whispered. "I hate not being the one that ... protects you." 

"You do protect me, Mulder, just from other things, the same way I protect you. We always watch each other's backs. But this is different and you know it." 

"I know, but it still bugs me." He paused. "I feel so useless." 

"Don't do that to yourself, Mulder. I'm not feeling particularly brave or useful myself. But we've got more to think about than just us now." 

He backed up slightly and one hand came down to rest on my abdomen which was still perfectly flat. He smiled. "I know." 

His hand wandered there constantly now, perhaps waiting for the first signs of pregnancy. I wasn't sure it would become real to him until he saw me with a rounded belly. 

I whispered, "You protect me from loneliness, Mulder, and so many other things. You protect me from myself, my unbending logic." 

He chuckled now, knowing I protected him from his obsessions. This door swung both ways. We balanced each other out. We both had faults, but not the same ones, fortunately, so we could usually catch each other before major bad moves were made. He had long since stopped ditching me, realizing that we were always better and safer together than we ever were apart. "Keep going, G-woman," he rumbled into my ear as his head lowered to my neck. 

He placed a soft kiss there and I shivered. "Without you, I would be loveless." 

"Hmmm?" 

"And bored, without a doubt," I stated firmly. 

"Oh yeah?" he replied, kissing his way down to my collar bone. 

"Passionless," I murmured. 

"Mmm, definitely," he muttered in response. 

"Mmmm, and childless," I offered finally. 

"Oh God, Scully," he murmured, his lips rising to meet mine now. We kissed tenderly. 

"I love you, Mulder. Only you. You know that, don't you?" 

He nodded. "I know. I guess I want to be your hero too. I've caused you so much pain." 

"And so much joy, Mulder. You are the father of this baby. OUR baby, Mulder. Nothing and nobody can take that away from us." 

He smiled again softly and cupped my face, lowering his head for another  
tender kiss. 

"We have to stay alert, Mulder." 

He sighed dramatically and I grinned. I tugged his hand and led him back to the couch. He sat down and I sat next to him, curling my legs under me and leaning into his side. His arm came up around my shoulders. "It's dark in here," he said suddenly. 

I turned my head to look at him and glanced at me, removing his arm and standing. "What are you doing?" 

"I don't know, but suddenly I want all the lights on. You know how good they are at hiding in shadows." 

There was a small lamp on a pole next to the couch that was currently providing the only illumination, other than the fish tank. He stood and turned on the living room lights. He moved to the kitchen and crossed back to the bedroom and then into his bathroom. Finally he reemerged and shrugged. "I know, dumb." 

"No ..." 

"If something does show up, I want to be able to see it." 

"If it's moving slow enough." 

"It has to stop sometime," he said. 

He was jumpy again and I patted the couch. He slid back down and wrapped me under his arm again. I snuggled into him, laying my head on his shoulder. He was warm. 

"Want to watch TV?" 

"No, I want to be able to hear." 

"Yeah, you're right." 

His knee bounced in an uncharacteristic display of anxiety. He hated waiting worse than I did. And I could hardly blame him for his anxiety on this case. He'd been bitten by that woman. 

I remember feeling my heart stop in my chest when I realized what had happened. I didn't even believe in vampires at that moment, or was denying it, anyway. But something froze inside me. I was terrified of  
what would happen to him. 

If not for Gareth, he would be dead. And later, he had assured us that being bitten did not mean that Mulder would turn into what they are. We had taken that at face value. 

A couple of days later, Mulder had asked about the procedure. Why, I don't know. I chalked it up to his insatiable curiosity. Later I realized he'd needed more assurance that he wouldn't be permanently scarred from the experience in any physical way. 

Gareth had explained that the 'Maker' had to deposit his/her own blood inside the person in order to start the change. Drinking from someone did not turn them. All the old movies to that effect were myth. He explained that first, blood had to be given, either by mouth or ... of all things, semen. Apparently their semen was half blood. Then blood had to be exchanged. The maker had to drink and the fledgling had to drink. He explained that the death of the mortal body was a fairly quick thing, but more gradual than one might expect, all things considered. It varied, but occurred in one to two weeks, depending on the strength of the Maker. I'd found it odd that he never used the word vampire when we asked him about it. 

He had explained that they had always called themselves 'blood drinkers'. That the term vampire was one made up by scholars of the paranormal. They had never used it for themselves, although he imagined most newer blood drinkers might. 

Of all the paranormal things I had finally decided to believe in, it was bizarre that vampirism had to the be the one. However, despite my unusually high capacity for denial, I was unable to keep denying their existence. Yes, I knew I was capable of great denial. Didn't make it any easier to let go of. It was a character defect that I recognized but didn't quite know how to temper. 

So many things had happened so quickly during that battle that there was no way it could have all been tricks set up beforehand. I'd wanted to believe that it was all deception, but being tossed through the air like a sack of potatoes went a long way toward convincing me that something supernatural was afoot. No normal woman could have lifted me easily, let alone tossed me fifteen feet into the air with enough force to sail me across a forty foot living room. I felt that cold chill inside when I remembered my only thought at that moment. The only thought I'd had time for at that moment was, 'This is it. What a stupid way to die.' 

In that split second, I was sure my life was over. Then in the next instant, it wasn't as I was landing on a hard body instead of hard stone. As unyielding as Krycek's chest had felt when I impacted, he was infinitely softer than the stone that would have killed me had I hit the chimney. 

I still shuddered internally when I thought of the hardness of his chest. It gave with the impact, but the compact, hard muscles were undeniable. His body was fantastic. So was Mulder's, I reminded myself. I felt a dart of guilt at admiring Krycek's physique, even if it was for only a second. It seemed a betrayal of Mulder, even that little thought, which I would never reveal even under pain of death. 

Knowing I admired Krycek in any way would send Mulder into a seizure of insecurity and jealousy. Although it would be totally unwarranted, that was Mulder's make up. 

He had a blind spot when it came to Krycek, maybe because the man had saved my life twice now. Mulder was grateful for that, but also jealous and resentful. He knew that was uncharitable and so there was this constant conflict. Krycek made him feel inadequate, more so now. Nothing could be further than the truth. It was like comparing apples to oranges. I could never trust Krycek the way I trusted Mulder. I might give him the benefit of the doubt. One day, I might even call him 'friend'. But I would never really trust him one hundred percent. 

As much as I told Mulder I loved him, he could still be insecure where I was concerned. It was a stark contrast to the confidence and arrogance he possessed about so many other things. But this relationship, for all its speed of growth in the last few months, was still new, so I couldn't blame him, really. I myself wondered at times if it was too good to be true. 

I didn't want to predict disaster for us, but I couldn't help wondering from time to time if the other shoe was going to drop. Would he suddenly decide I was better off without him? Acting out of some misguided martyrdom? I could only wait and see. I didn't think he'd ever be able to walk away from his child, no matter what else happened. 

I knew that he thought he wasn't good enough for me in many ways. It made me sad that the women of his past, starting with his mother, had so destroyed his self esteem when it came to relationships. He was obsessive and borderline obnoxious with his arrogance when it came to most things paranormal. But let him have to decide what to say to further a relationship, and he was suddenly trembling and stuttering like a school boy. In many ways, I found that adorable. In other ways, I thought it was sad. 

He was a brilliant man. And now, he was the father of the child growing inside me. I'd been tested two days after Gareth told him I was pregnant. The blood test had confirmed it. We were both still a little in shock over it, still a little afraid to believe. 

I rested my hand on his bouncing thigh and it came to an abrupt halt. "Sorry," he muttered. 

I cupped his face and turned it toward me. "Nothing to be sorry for. I hate waiting too." 

"It's more than that," he said. 

"What's going on, Mulder?" 

He looked at me, his hazel eyes sad. "I'm scared," he admitted. 

I observed him quietly for a few moments. "It's all right to be scared, Mulder. I am too." 

He urged me into his lap and I straddled his thighs. We embraced again. He talked softly in my ear. "I've been afraid before, Scully. But never like this. It bothers me." 

"It shouldn't. You have a good reason to afraid." 

"I've been attacked before by perps. Why is this one affecting me so much?" he asked. 

"I don't know. Maybe because she was so ... real. Other perps attacking brought fear of death. This had many other implications, Mulder. Fortunately, we were misinformed." 

He nodded and buried his nose in my hair, inhaling deeply. "I love you, Scully." 

"Mmm, I love you too, Mulder. And you know what?" 

"What?" 

"I don't like asking for help either. You of all people know that about me. But I'd rather be embarrassed, alive and safe, than proud, stubborn and dead." 

"Yeah," he said quietly. "Me too." 

We sat that way, hugging, running fingers through each other's hair, kissing occasionally. No more words were needed or spoken. I finally rested my head on his shoulder and we snuggled. His five o'clock shadow snagged in my hair and I didn't care. It made me feel content to be this close. Long minutes passed as I floated into a contented snooze. 

Into the quiet he said, "Are you awake?" 

I inhaled deeply, feeling extremely tired all of a sudden, having let myself relax into the warmth of his embrace. "Barely," I murmured. 

"How can you sleep at a time like this, Scully?" he asked gently, sincerely curious. 

I smiled against his shoulder and whispered, "Because I'm here with you." 

"And? So?" 

"And so I feel safe ... and protected. I know you're here to watch my back." 

He gasped with some unknown emotion and hugged me tighter. "Love you so much," he whispered. 

The next thing I knew, Mulder was nudging me awake. 

**PART 2 (PG-13)**  
**ALEXANDRIA TOWN PLOT PARK**  
**ALEXANDRIA, VA**  
**AN HOUR LATER**

"Scully, someone's at the door." 

I was awake instantly and Mulder poured me off his lap as he stood to answer the door. I shivered with the loss of his body heat and shook the sleep from my head. He unholstered his weapon, which had been sitting in its leather case on the coffee table. He cautiously peered through the peephole that I'd insisted he install a while back. All the shit that had gone on in this dumpy apartment and he'd never installed a peephole. I couldn't believe it. 

In any case, he had one now. I saw his shoulders relax, but he was still on alert. He turned to me and said, "It's Gareth." 

To the door, he said, "You alone?" 

"For the moment," came the garbled response through the door. 

Mulder undid the chain lock and slid the two dead bolts away. He opened the door and waved in the giant of a man that we had first known as Deputy Director Kendall Fair. His shoulders filled the doorway and blocked the light from the hall as he stepped through the door. 

As many times as I'd seen him by now, I was struck anew by his size every time he entered a room. The man stood six foot, eight inches tall and had shoulders like a professional power lifter. He was dressed casually tonight in sweat pants and a tee shirt, the arms of which were sorely pressed to contain the circumference of his biceps. 

Unlike his wavy, collar-length daytime style, his hair was now down to the center of his back, straight and thick. He'd explained that you retained the features you had when you were made. In 1500 B.C. Egypt, he'd had hair down to his ass. As a noble from a prestigious family, it had been a sign of status and breeding to have long hair. He cut it each morning, tucking errant strands behind his ears and putting a bit of gel in it. Without the weight of his thick mane, it would curl nicely around his collar. 

As soon as the sun went down, it would begin to grow back. By morning, it would be down to his rump again. hovering just above his belt. Considering his height, that was an impressive head of hair. I knew women that would kill for hair like that. He was olive skinned with an odd paleness beneath the surface. It allowed him to pass for mortal easier than others without that advantage. 

He claimed to have lived 3,500 years. That was hard to fathom and I wasn't sure I swallowed the whole story. But I'd seen the man fly, and I'd seen the man, along with Krycek, kill a female ... blood drinker. I'd seen the both of them perform feats of physical prowess that no mortal could possibly achieve. So while I believed in what he was, I wasn't sure I believed his proffered history. But for lack of other evidence, we had no choice but to go along for the ride. 

He waited patiently while Mulder redid the dead bolts and chain lock on the door, nodding his approval. Mulder shrugged, "You could crash through that door if you wanted to anyway," he said, responding to the nod of approval. 

"Yes, but I wouldn't want to, and neither would he. Causes too much noise. Stealth is more our style rather than raising a ruckus by crashing through perfectly good doors," he said facetiously. 

We both smiled in spite of the situation, not immune to his bland sense of humor about his abilities. "Find anything?" I asked, impatient with even this tiny delay. 

He nodded. "Alex is taking care of it now." 

"Taking care of what?" Mulder asked. 

"Why don't you call D.D. Skinner and get him out of bed," he said with a smile. 

"You caught him?" I asked, surprised in spite of myself. I'd been spooked, but didn't really think they would find anything. 

"Seems your instincts proved worthy," he said to Mulder with another nod of admiration. "We found him in the park across the street, hiding in a tree." 

"A tree?" I asked, surprise evident in my voice. 

He grinned, showing perfect white teeth. "He was watching your apartment, all right." 

"What would he have wanted with us?" 

"He must have known you were on the case. He may have been watching me and seen you with me. We'll know more in a few minutes. I think he was probably waiting for you to go to bed. It would be easy to attack you while sleeping. You'd never hear him coming." 

I shuddered, remembering that we hadn't heard the vampire in Connecticut either. Something had awoken us. We thought it was the ghosts that resided in the house. Now I wasn't so sure. I thought maybe it had been Krycek. 

"I still don't see it. How did he know about us?" 

"Alex is getting your answers." 

"We need him ..." 

"Alive, I know. I told him not to kill him." 

Mulder looked at him. "Then what?" 

"Alex will make sure he's very weak. If he doesn't feed, he'll stay that way. You can lock him up, but if you want him to stay alive, I'd keep him in a windowless cell." 

I said, "You and Krycek can take a little daylight. He said he just gets a tan ... like it was a joke." 

"Oh, it's no joke. And yes, we get darker. But it can still kill us. The only reason we don't go up in flames is because we are so powerful. The years for me and my blood for him ... our tolerance increases. This boy is an infant in the blood." 

"Who made him?" 

"I thought at first he must be a fledgling of Zebrosia's. I figured she'd brought him along for a travel companion and then when she was killed, he was unable to go home ... wherever home was." 

"And so he began to kill." 

"That's what I thought. But he was weak, and it was too easy to read his mind. If he were a fledgling of Zebrosia's, he would be strong, just by virtue of her blood. He was made by another. One I don't know. This fledgling is only about a decade old." 

"He could be strong though, couldn't he? If he drank from Zebrosia?" 

Gareth looked at Mulder. "But he didn't. I could tell right away. I don't think she was very free with her blood, if you know what I mean." 

"She enjoyed being that much more powerful than all the others," I conjectured. 

"Exactly. She could fly. She must have flown them here. But the young one can't, and now he's stranded. Even weak, he could have killed you. He could still have overpowered you easily. Alex will make sure he can't do that anymore. He could leave but I've a feeling they came from overseas. He probably is ignorant of airplanes and afraid to fly. He may have no money. Who knows?" 

"Overseas?" I nearly cried. "How could she travel that far by ... air," I said lamely. 

He laughed at my awkwardness in asking these questions and I stared at the carpet, slightly annoyed that he was amused with me. 

He sobered and said, "I'm sorry, Agent Scully. I'm not used to talking so freely about these things with mortals. Alex was the first I'd taken into my confidence in over a century. I guess I'm enjoying some of the reactions. Forgive me." 

I nodded, feeling a slight blush. He continued, "It's possible she crossed the Atlantic but I doubt it. She probably went up north and across smaller bodies of water into Arctic and then came down." 

"But she showed up in Georgia first," Mulder protested. "Or that's where the first kill was." 

He nodded. "She may have gone that far south for the warmth. Who knows? Maybe she island hopped across the south. I honestly don't know. I don't know how far her endurance would have taken her. I've never tested my limits in that area, for that matter. Something I really should do one of these days," he said as though making a mental grocery list, as though he hadn't just said something fantastic. 

"So what now?" 

"Wait for Alex to get here. Then call D.D. Skinner. Let him decide what to do with the fledgling. I was never here. I can't be connected to this.  
But remember my warning about keeping him alive. He's young. He'll go up like a torch if he's hit with sunlight. Then all you'll have for a perp is a small pile of ashes." 

These words were barely across his lips when another knock sounded on the door. Mulder went through the unlocking process again and I thought how barricaded he was here now. I remembered my amusement at the The Lone Gunmen the first time I visited there and waited through the awesome series of unlocking mechanisms at their hide out. 

Mulder looked through the peephole even though he knew who it was. He made a face, which I assumed was a reaction to whoever or whatever Krycek had with him. I stood, not wanting to remain sitting for this while all the men towered over me. 

Mulder opened the door and swung it wide. Krycek marched in with a man beside him, his arms twisted behind his back and held in place with just one of Krycek's hands. The other hand was fisted into the man's collar. Mulder shut and locked the door behind him, backing away to give them a wide berth. 

The man was tall, maybe Mulder's height of six feet, but skinny as a bean pole, his arms and legs appearing gangly in oversized jeans with a rip in the knee and a baggy blue denim shirt. His hair was blonde and hung in limp strands to his shoulders. His complexion was pasty white. He appeared to have no eyebrows at all, although upon closer inspection, they were there, but almost as white as his skin. It gave his wide set eyes a oddly vacant look. His slender frame was a marked contrast to Gareth and Krycek, who were both muscular and tall. Krycek was now six foot, three inches tall, having gained about five inches upon becoming a ... vampire. 

The man's cheeks were gaunt, his lips a pinkish gray. He did not look good at all, but he was alive and I could see his chest rise and fall with his slightly ragged breaths. He didn't look frightened ... rather, he looked weary and resigned to his fate. Gareth glared at him and he did balk then slightly, cringing and backing into Krycek, feeling more secure apparently with his captor than with the stern glare of Gareth. "Heruben?" he whispered. 

Gareth ignored whatever he had just said and turned to Mulder. I could only assume it was a foreign language. "Ah, here is our little delinquent. Agent Mulder, meet Pierre LeBlanc." 

Mulder merely stared, as did I, still taking his measure. He didn't look very threatening at the moment. However, if I'd learned nothing else in the last couple of months, it was that looks could be deceiving. 

Krycek shook him a bit, apparently just for sport, and his head bobbed dangerously on his tall, skinny neck. He looked like a marionette, with Krycek pulling the strings. I half expected Krycek to grab his arms and begin gesturing with him, using him as a puppet to perform some sort of demented Gumby act. That would be in line with what I'd come to know of Krycek's peculiar sense of humor. 

Instead, he merely stood there with an odd look on his face, peering at his fellow vampire as though he were a spec of dirt. Gareth finally turned his attention to Krycek. "Well?" 

"He couldn't keep anything from me." 

"Anything of interest?" Gareth asked calmly. 

Krycek frowned and said, "Gareth, you're not going to believe this shit." 

"Try me," he said patiently. 

"Entirely too much to tell right now. Suffice it to say, that I think you can haul him in without too much trouble." 

Gareth peered at him again. "How much did you take?" 

"I left him with enough to keep his heart beating." 

Krycek's complexion was undoubtedly paler than it used to be. But in the bright light of the apartment, I could see the stain of blood in his cheeks and shuddered involuntarily. It was all a bit much for me to wrap my mind around sometimes. 

"He looks like he's had some sort of psychotic break." He waved his fingers in front of the man's face. He flinched slightly but otherwise didn't respond. 

"He might have." 

"What did you do to him?" 

"I showed him a little movie." 

Gareth's face was hard when he said, "Of what, Alex?" 

"The last few minutes of Zebrosia's life." 

Gareth closed his eyes and sighed. "Don't you think that was a bit extreme?" 

"Maybe, but he stopped fighting. I think he realized he had no chance at that point. It was almost as though he wanted to die." 

"Like David," Gareth said, referring to the rogue blood drinker that had stalked us in Connecticut. Krycek had arrived just in time to save us. He claimed David was weak, but he'd seemed plenty strong to me. Mulder's bullet hadn't stopped him. 

Krycek nodded. "Exactly like David." 

"What do you mean?" 

"He wasn't made willingly," Krycek said calmly. "And he's not the only one." 

Gareth got a strange look on his face and said, "Are you implying what I think you're implying?" 

Krycek nodded. "I think we have a much bigger problem on our hands. Forget about rogue fledgling blood drinkers." 

"Are you saying we've got a rogue Maker on our hands," he said quietly. 

Krycek nodded gravely. "I think so. I got a lot from his mind when I bled him. I have some ideas where to start. But I saw a lot and I want to tell you all of it first." 

"Son of a bitch!" Gareth growled. 

Krycek nodded gravely. A moment of silence passed and he said, "I think it's time to be the King, Gareth." 

Gareth sighed loudly. "Shit," was his only response. 

"Yeah, shit." 

"Well, at least I have a Prince to help me out," he said. 

Krycek smiled that crooked smile of his and said, "Whither thou goest, I go." 

"Cuff him," Gareth said. 

Mulder pulled cuffs out of the drawer under his computer and cuffed the man. He looked at Krycek as he let him go, who turned to Mulder and said. "You don't need to be afraid. He isn't even as strong as you are now. He knows it too. Just don't let him bite you. If he gets blood, he'll regain his strength. Warn whoever will be his keeper that he's a biter." 

Gareth turned to the man and got right in his face. He shrank away from him. Gareth growled, "A name. I want a name." 

The man remained mute. "Tell me now. If you're afraid of your Maker, forget him. You don't know fear until I mess with you." 

Pierre trembled slightly. "Roseman," he whispered. He pronounced it Rose-A-Mun. 

"Where is he?" 

"I don't know," the fledgling replied. 

Gareth stared at him for a long moment and must have decided he was telling the truth. Or maybe he read his mind. It was hard to tell; his face gave away nothing. He glanced at Mulder. "I've got what I need here. Call Skinner to come lock him up. You can advertise that he's been caught and it will relax the public from the panic over these killings." 

I asked, "Sir, uh, could you check upstairs above this apartment. Just  
make sure no one's up there." 

Gareth nodded. "Of course. I don't hear anyone up there though." 

"You can hear what's going on a floor above us?" I asked incredulously. 

He smiled. "I could hear what was going on in the next building if I wanted to, Agent Scully." 

"Christ," I murmured. 

He merely smiled and said, "I'll check it out to be sure. You never know." As if he knew what we had been thinking, and he probably did, he reached above his head without much of a reach and pulled the smoke alarm off the ceiling. He carefully inspected inside and peered through the hole where the wires were now dangling from the ceilings. "There's nothing here, but I'll check anyway." 

Mulder nodded, satisfied, and I turned and went to the phone, dialing Skinner's home number from memory. 

['ello,] a strangled, hoarse voice traveled into my ear. 

"Sir, sorry to wake you at this hour." I glanced at my watch. It was 1:30 AM. 

He cleared his throat, sounding more awake now. [What's the matter?] 

"We've caught our killer, Sir." 

[Where are you?] 

"Mulder's apartment, but we're about to take him to the Alexandria lock up for now." 

[Why there?] 

"The lock up is in the basement." 

[So what?] 

"No windows, Sir," I said, realizing how this sounded. 

He grunted. [Are you saying ...??] he trailed off. 

"He's a vampire, Sir, but he's been ... weakened. We'll need to scare up a muzzle, I'm afraid." 

[Oh Christ,] he muttered, exasperated. 

"Sorry, Sir, but I thought you'd want to know, or be in on the booking." 

[How'd you catch him?] 

"Long story, but essentially, he came gunning for us. A ... friend helped us out." 

[A friend,] he repeated, clearly not amused with my vague references. 

"Someone who could tangle with him and ... weaken him for us." 

[Ah, so now you're telling me you know other vampires.] Clearly, he didn't believe me. 

"I'm afraid so, Sir." 

He chuckled. [I'm surprised to hear this coming from you, Agent Scully.] 

"No more surprised than me, Sir." 

[Never a dull moment with you two around.] 

I breathed heavily, suddenly weary despite my nap. We had several hours of booking and arraignments ahead of us. "Will you meet us down there?" 

[Yes, I'll be there in twenty,] he replied. 

"See you then, Sir." 

[This better be good, Agent Scully.] 

"I think it will be, Sir." 

[See you soon, Agent.] 

"Right, Sir." I broke the connection and replaced the handset in the cradle again. "He's meeting us there, Mulder." 

Mulder nodded. "Krycek, can you come with us?" 

His eyebrows raised, surprised at the invitation. "I suppose." 

"I'd feel better if you ... contained him while I drive." 

Gareth looked at Krycek. "Go with them. I can't." 

He nodded. "I'll see you when I get home." 

"I'll want all the details." 

"You'll have them." 

**PART 3 (PG-13)**  
**ALEXANDRIA CITY JAIL**  
**ALEXANDRIA, VA**  
**SATURDAY MORNING - 2:00 AM**

"This is him?" Skinner asked dubiously, looking at the wraith of a man sitting in the corner of the barren cot, knees drawn up to his chin, arms around his legs. 

"Yup, not much to look at is he?" 

"I was expecting ... I don't know what I was expecting, Mulder. But this wasn't it." 

"Looks can be deceiving, Sir. Much like the aliens, you can't determine strength from looking at them." 

Krycek had accompanied us to the jail, but split as soon as the booking process began. By then, I had relaxed some. Scully was still very wary and I couldn't blame her. 

She almost looked wistful when Krycek had left and I'd felt another pang of some nameless emotion tugging in my chest. I really had to stop this. I knew she loved me and I wasn't blind. 

Krycek was a good looking man. And now, more than ever, his physique was extraordinary. Made me want to the hit the gym and start pumping iron. Maybe I would do that, just to work off some the tension. Running didn't seem to be doing it any more. 

Scully said, "How are we going to explain to these people that they need to watch out for him? They'll never believe us." 

Her voice yanked me out of my reverie and I turned my attention to her. "We could tell them the truth." 

She scowled. "Yeah, and I'm sure they'd believe us." 

Skinner jumped in. "I think you should just tell them what your friend said, that he's a biter for some reason and under no circumstances should they let him near enough to bite." He didn't know that the friend we referred to was Krycek. Skinner trusted him even less than Mulder did. 

"Sounds like a plan to me," Scully added. 

We all nodded agreement and Skinner and Scully left to talk to the local police and explain to the man on guard duty about our errant prisoner. He certainly didn't look like someone that could have killed six or eight people. According to Krycek, he was the one leaving bodies up the coast, not Zebrosia. Somehow he had determined, from drinking from the suspect, that the fledgling had done the killing and Zebrosia hadn't needed to feed since they had left there home ... wherever that was. Krycek said he thought he knew from the pictures he had stolen from the man's mind. 

I looked at the cuffs, dangling between the man's wrists. They'd left them on, not locked tight, switching them from the rear to the front when we'd arrived so that he could be finger printed. I'd had doubts as to whether or not he had finger prints, but he did. 

I doubted they would show up in any database, though. Useless as far as I was concerned. The man had killed and should be punished. On the other hand, how was that to happen when the man couldn't see the light of day? There was no way he could be brought out to go to court during the daytime, which is the only time court was held. This was going to be sticky. 

In some ways, I almost wish Krycek had killed him and saved us the trouble of figuring this out. On the other hand, this whole situation was intriguing the hell out of me. 

He startled me when he spoke, "I wish he'd killed me too." 

I stared at him, surprised to hear his scratchy, but surprisingly soft, high voice. "You do?" 

"Yes. This is not living. This is existing," he said softly. 

"Then why did you kill all those people?" 

"Despite it all, I wanted to survive, hoping I could find my niche in the grand scheme of things." 

"What scheme of things? Don't you know you don't have to kill people to survive." 

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter now. I won't survive this." 

"How can you be sure? We brought you here because it's in a basement with no windows." 

"And how long do you think they will be able to do that before ignoring your warnings and bringing me out during the day time?" 

I sighed. "We're working on that problem." 

"And then what? If I manage to survive? Send me to prison?" 

"You'd have to go into solitary confinement." 

He chuckled softly. "Yeah, couldn't risk leaving me alone in the laundry with some hapless prisoner." 

"No, I'm afraid we couldn't." 

"If I survive, there isn't a prison that could hold me." 

"Even in your condition?" 

"Only a matter of time before I found an opportunity to feed. My strength would return and I would be able to escape." 

"Then what?" I asked, almost feeling sorry for him, but then remembering the eight dead people between Augusta and D.C. 

He sighed loudly. "I don't know." 

"You'd be free to kill again? I can't let that happen." 

He stared at me and smiled. "You are companion to one of us and yet you trust him and not me?" 

"First, he's not my companion. He's an ... acquaintance. Second, he has only killed when necessary or if the person was a killer themselves. Third, most of the time, he only takes what he needs to survive." 

"Yes, well, with such strong blood, his needs are much less than mine." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I have never come across ones such as them. Zebrosia was the only one. I knew they were strong. I'd heard of him but I guess I ... didn't really believe he was still in existence. He's a legend in Egypt, you know. Zebrosia said he was strong, but she didn't say he was as strong as she. They are powerful beyond my imagining. My Master thinks he is the oldest and strongest after Zebrosia. He is very wrong. He is a baby compared to these two. He thought Zebrosia was the only one older and stronger than he still in existence. The older you are, the less blood you need to survive." 

"Zebrosia didn't tell him there was one such as she?" 

He shook his head. "I don't think she was sure he was alive. Then she heard his call." 

"His call?" 

"He tried to reach her. She knew he wanted to ask permission to make a fledgling. She was so bitter and said he would never get permission from her. But she kept track of him." 

"How?" 

He smiled. "Once he gave himself away with his call, she knew where he was, she checked on him from time to time. She would have never approached him, but then he ..." 

The creatures swallowed hard. "He what?" I prompted. 

"He made his fledgling without her permission." 

"Was that so bad?" 

"To her it was. To her, it was the ultimate betrayal. She was very ... righteous in her superiority. To have someone dare to defy her was more than she could ignore." 

"So she came for him." 

"Yes, she thought to destroy his fledgling first and watch him suffer the grief, returning later to destroy him. She was utterly confident in her mission. I knew he was stronger than my Maker, because she told me so, but I had no idea." 

"Didn't it occur to her that his fledgling would fight also, that it would be two against one?" 

He chuckled mirthlessly. "Ah, you humans. You have absolutely no concept the level of arrogance we are talking about. She totally discounted his fledgling. Even with his blood, he couldn't be stronger than his Maker and she was totally confident that ... what did you call him?" 

"Gareth." 

"Yeah, that Gareth was no match for her. His fledgling didn't even factor into her equation. She thought he would be an easy kill." He was silent a moment and then shivered, "They killed Zebrosia!" he cried suddenly. "Do have any idea what that means?! Do you?! She was our QUEEN!" 

He stood up from his bunk. "I can't even imagine his strength ... holy shit." He collapsed back down onto the bunk and rested his elbows on his knees, cupping his head in his hands. 

"Why did she bring you?" I asked, trying to keep him talking. 

"Just for company and to look out should she need another pair of eyes and ears. And for sex. She was practically insatiable. We all are." 

That gave me pause and made me nervous about Krycek's intentions around Scully  
all over again. Would he ever take her by force if his need was great enough?  
I shuddered at the thought of it. 

"Why you? You some kind of Don Juan in bed," I taunted. 

"I owed her." 

"For what?" 

He frowned. "She was protecting me from my Maker. I'd defied him as Gareth had defied her. I wouldn't go along with my Maker's plans. But ... she didn't see it the same way. She thought all should show allegiance to her, so my crime was not as bad as ... Gareth's. Your friend will tell you about it." 

"I'm not sure he will." He hesitated using the name Gareth. So, as I suspected, that wasn't Kendall Fair's real name either. I wondered if we would ever know. 

He looked at me then. I felt a small wave of dizziness and grabbed the bars of his cell to steady myself. "Fuck you!" I hollered, knowing what he was doing. 

Until that moment, I didn't realize how adept Krycek and Gareth were at mind reading. I never felt this jolt, or hot pain in my head before. And I knew they had read me easily and without my knowledge. This one's psyche hit me like a Mac truck. As my knees began to buckle, he relented and I felt coolness sweep through my head again and breathed through another small round of dizziness. 

"Stay the fuck out of my head, you blood sucker!" 

He laughed then. "You knew what I was doing, huh?" 

"You've all the finesse of a rabid pit bull." 

He frowned. "What do you mean?" 

"I've been read by Alex and Gareth before. I never felt a thing." 

He stared at me for a moment and then sighed deeply again. "I am young, that must be the difference." 

"Is this Maker of yours near?" 

"No, you've no worries from him. He resides far from here." 

"Where?" 

He smiled. "I'm not going to tell you that." 

"Why not?" 

"Because he's after me already. He would know I'd given him away." 

"Why is he after you? He can't think he can kill Zebrosia. And he doesn't know she's dead." 

He shook his head. "Talk to the strong one. He will tell you." 

"Gareth?" 

"No, the other one. He knows everything now." 

"Perhaps not everything." 

"I'm weary and dawn approaches. It pulls on me heavily, even here. I would sleep now. Have a little mercy." 

"Mercy? You killed eight innocent people for God sakes. You don't deserve any mercy! You would have killed me and ... Scully." 

He looked at his sneakers and back up to me. "Which bothers you more?" 

I refused to answer that. He didn't need to know how important Scully was to me. Then he huffed, "Don't answer. I already know." 

"You know nothing!" I spat at him and turned and walked away. I was wondering why I had even stayed to watch him and talk with him. It was useless. Krycek was the only one that could give us any useful information. "You didn't have to kill those people! Why did you do that?" 

He stared at me. "Biological imperative." 

"You didn't have to kill them." 

He smiled the most evil smile I'd ever seen and for the first time I was really afraid of him. "I guess your friends have never told you, eh?" 

"Told me what?" 

"Killing ... draining someone ... it is the most profound ecstasy you will ever feel. The victim feels it too. It is not a hard way to die." 

I stared at him and flushed remembering the throbbing, aching erection I'd gotten when Zebrosia had drank from me. I'd no doubts that she'd planned on draining me dry. I shuddered visibly again and shook myself. 

His eyes widened a bit. "Ah, so you do know something of it. There's your answer." 

I turned away from him disgust. Disgust for his blood lust, disgust at myself for having felt the arousal of being fed on. Jesus, I was sick. I found Scully and Skinner in the main lobby, waiting for me. 

"What took you so long, Mulder?" Scully asked. 

"We had a little chat." 

"About what?" 

"This and that." I glanced at Skinner and he was scowling at me. 

"He didn't happen to say WHY he killed all these people, did he?" Skinner asked. 

"Of course, he says he needed to in order to survive," I said stiffly. 

"You believe that?" 

"No," I replied. "I happen to know they don't have to kill to survive." 

"More information from your 'friend'?" he asked, clearly irritated at not knowing who it was and that both Scully and I believed in this. 

"Yes," I answered simply. 

"Then why kill if you don't have to? It's like leaving a trail to your door." 

"He said ... killing is ecstasy." 

Skinner scowled again. "Jesus, that's sick." 

"Never met a killer that wasn't," I said dryly. 

"Let's go home. I'm so tired I can barely walk," Scully admitted. I placed my hand on her lower back in its familiar position. I guided her out the  
front door, with Skinner trailing close behind. 

We were back home by 3:00 AM, but exhausted. We crashed, only taking time to remove our clothes and fall into bed. 

**XXXXXXXXXX**  
**FOX MULDER'S APARTMENT**  
**ALEXANDRIA, VA**  
**SATURDAY - 11:00 AM**

I'd slept like the dead for once. No dreams, no nightmares, nothing. I'd been exhausted, so I couldn't imagine how tired Scully was. I levered up onto one elbow, cradling my head in my hand. I watched her slow, even breaths as she laid beside me. Her hair was spread out behind her head like a fiery halo. 

Her lips were moist and parted, showing a flash of pink tongue. One hand lay on her stomach. The other curled gently next to her face. She looked like an angel and I laid my palm on her tummy. The idea of her pregnancy excited and intrigued me. It also scared the shit out of me. I wanted it all, though. Everything. With Scully, it was the whole enchilada or nothing. 

Oh, I would take what she would give me. But I wanted it all. I wanted to marry her and be husband and wife before the baby came. I wondered how she would feel about that. Her Catholic upbringing was surely on my side. She wouldn't want to have a child out of wedlock. Then again, she didn't practice strict Catholicism and I'm sure she hadn't counted on ME being the father of her child. Years ago when we'd talked about these things briefly, she'd implied that if she did it, she would do it right. However, she'd never really said what 'right' was. And then, I'm sure, she wasn't thinking of me in the picture. 

Being married to me might be a little more daunting than if I were some rich doctor with a home and a big lawn. The irony was that I could afford those things. I just didn't know if she still wanted them. Being Mrs. Spooky for real might be a bit much right now. 

Then again, I'd never know unless I asked. I was smart enough to realize that if she said 'No', it didn't mean the relationship was over. And it wouldn't mean a rejection of ME personally either. But I knew I would be hurt if she turned me down, or put me off. 

I traced her lips with my finger and her mouth pursed into the cutest 'smooch me' expression I'd ever seen. But I didn't want to wake her. She was so beautiful. I still couldn't believe I was waking up with a naked Scully in my bed. That alone was cause for celebration. 

I was worried about this rogue vampire they were speaking of. They hadn't given any details, but I could tell by the conversation that whatever was brewing out there in the world of the undead ... it wasn't good. In any event, I hoped we could stay out of it from here on out. We had captured our perp, albeit with a little help. He'd pretty much admitted to the crimes with the resignation of a someone who knows there is no way out. 

**PART 4 (NC-17)**  
**FOX MULDER'S APARTMENT**  
**ALEXANDRIA, VA**  
**SATURDAY- 12:00 NOON**

Was there a greater mystery than sexuality? What causes us to be attracted to one person, repulsed by another and indifferent to still another? Is it fate? Compatible pheromones? God's will? We may never know. 

However, we recognize the feeling. That pull inside us that draws us closer to the person that has that 'thing' that makes our hearts beat faster, our mouths go dry. We are drawn to them like a moth to a flame. Scully was my flame. I run after her, hovering in her wake, eternally hoping that she will bestow attention on me; one small touch, a shy smile, a blush. It's extraordinary, the effect she has on me. 

Despite my propensity for the paranormal and flights of fancy, I'm generally quite grounded when it comes to women. I've been hurt too many times in my past to be able to love easily, trust easily, even be attracted easily. Big boobs, long legs and full lips lost their superficial appeal a long time ago. I found too many pretty packages with spoiled meat inside. 

Scully, on the other hand, was every thinking man's dream and every cocky asshole's nightmare. She wasn't just a pretty package. There was a brain inside along with a pure soul and limitless compassion, understanding and an ability to forgive that ought to be legendary. 

**XXXXX**  
**THIS PORTION NC-17**

I woke with her warm, little bottom pressing into the cradle of my pelvis and making Mulder Jr. sit up and take notice. He seemed to have totally forgotten that he needed to pee a few minutes ago. 

She gasped softly and her tiny hand reached back, laying like a brand on my thigh. 

I felt the oxygen leave my lungs in a rush, and all the blood run like the devil into my groin. I moaned and pressed my now straining erection into the baby soft skin of her ass. 

She tipped her ass up and lifted her leg, gently setting her tiny foot on my calf. So accommodating, wasn't she? I couldn't believe she wanted me as much as I wanted her ... still. I know it had only been a couple of months, but I was still waiting for some disaster to strike this new found intimacy between us. 

She wiggled her butt, and my shaft slid between her legs. 

I pressed forward, poking her clitoris and wetting myself on her juices which were already flowing freely. 

She moaned and that was all the invitation I needed. Gripping her hip gently, I angled myself and slid inside her in one long stroke until my balls were pressed snugly against her pubic bone. 

She groaned, her hand flexing in place on my thigh as she urged me into motion. Didn't have to ask me twice. I slid easily in and out of her slick tunnel, panting gently in her ear, keeping my pace slow. Shivers ran up and down my spine as I listened to the little mews of pleasure that emerged from the back of her throat. 

I still couldn't believe sometimes that I was capable of making her emit these sounds, that I was capable of bringing her this kind of pleasure. But the evidence was plain in the slick wetness of her thighs where her arousal was manifest and sliding out of her to coat her soft skin with a damp lubrication. I surprised myself with my lazy reveling. 

Her body stiffened against mine as I pinched her nipple lightly, and her muscles convulsed on my hardness, moaning out my name, "OH God, Mmuullddeerrr!" 

I gritted my teeth and moaned but somehow held back and continued to stroke her. I was in no hurry to end it. I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt this at peace, this sure of myself. As she came down, I rolled into her, turning her onto her stomach, taking my weight on my elbows and continuing my leisurely exploration of her most intimate parts. My hands slipped under her body as she raised her shoulders off the bed, grasping her soft globes and weighing them in my hands, fingers finding her nipples and teasing them into a second round of hardness. 

She gasped and squirmed under me, whispering, "Let it go, Mulder. Come for me." 

Although I wanted it to last forever, it had to end sometime. I sped up my strokes, rocking her body as my hips collided with her ass, causing her taut butt to ripple on impact. I took my weight on one elbow and slid one hand down her belly, finding her juncture and gently circling her clitoris with two fingers. 

"Oh Jeeesssuuusss!" she moaned out, shuddering around me again. 

I groaned and felt my balls tighten. I didn't hold it back and let the warm  
fizzle of excitement stiffen me to the limit and I was washing her insides with  
my sperm, feeling hard trembling rock my body in a slow motion, incredibly  
satisfying release. 

I collapsed onto her and whispered in her ear, "I love you so much." 

"Ditto," she sighed. I slid to her side, still half covering her back. We fell asleep for another half hour and then woke lazily to crawl into the shower. It was likely to be another long day. 

**XXXXXXXXX - END NC-17**  
**KENDALL FAIR'S TOWNHOUSE**  
**GEORGETOWN, D.C.**  
**SATURDAY - 3:00 AM**

I sat staring at the fire in the fireplace while I waited for Alex to take off his muddy boots. He followed me into the living room, his lazy stride making his hips sway just enough to catch the eye. He had such unconscious grace. I was sitting on the couch, with my back to the armrest. He sat on the opposite end and lifted his legs up to slid them in between mine. 

His stockinged toes slid over my calves and up the inside of my thighs. I felt my groin tingle and ruthlessly suppressed my libido as I saw him throw me a sly grin. 

"You're incorrigible." 

"I know. That's why you love me so much." 

I barked out a huff of laughter and leaned back to get more comfortable, letting his feet rest lightly on my groin. "We have to talk, Alex." 

His smile disappeared. "I know." 

"Tell me what you saw. Everything. No detail is too small. Don't leave anything out." 

He sighed and closed his eyes. "Give me a minute." 

"Take your time," I said softly, watching his beautiful face. His lips pursed slightly, making me want to kiss him. His brow furrowed, making me want to run my thumb over it and smooth it out. What was it about him that made me constantly want to be touching him? We could hardly sit across the room from one another. Even now, needing to have this serious conversation, we sat near each other, our legs touching, stretched out next to each other. This couch was enormous. I'd had it built specially to accommodate my height. The cushions were huge and overstuffed and the fabric soft. A person could sink into it nicely without getting lost. 

After a couple of minutes he opened his eyes. "I had to put things in chronological order as best I could. I may be off some." 

"That's all right, just tell me what you saw." 

"First, I saw Zebrosia. He ..." 

"What?" 

"He was her lover, or one of them." 

I raised my eyebrows, wondering why she would take one so young and weak. Then I realized her whole life was about control and he would have been easy to control. 

"Then I saw his Maker." 

"What did he look like?" I wondered if it was someone I knew. Although I'd had no contact with others of my kind in over a century, years ago, I had lived amongst others. 

"He had jet black hair and blue eyes. His skin was very white and smooth." 

"As smooth as yours?" 

"Not quite, but close." 

I nodded to encourage him to continue. 

"The picture I saw was him standing looking down at Pierre. So he must be taller, I'd say by a couple of inches. Maybe six foot, two inches or so. He's lean, but well toned. His hair past his collar, maybe down to the bottom of his shoulder blades and a little wavy. He was wearing modern clothes, a double breasted suit. 

"This Pierre defied him by going to Zebrosia and ratting him out. She lured him away and promised to protect him for his loyalty. She had plans to destroy his Maker and all the followers, but then she learned of me." 

"And that took priority," I guessed. 

He nodded. "Yes." 

His description wasn't ringing any bells as I went through my index of 'Others' in my head. "Go on." 

"That's it, really. I got no sense of time or place or background at that point. But then I did later. I saw a picture of a great room and I don't know, but I sensed that it was underground. There had to be thirty blood drinkers there of various ages, all sitting around on a marble tiled floor. This Maker was holding court in the center of the room, giving some kind of speech, but I couldn't get any words from his mind. I got the feeling Pierre had been spying on the gathering." 

"He didn't strike me as strong enough to do that and avoid detection." 

"Maybe, maybe not. We don't really know how strong these Others are, do we?" 

I shook my head. "No, you're right ... we don't, really, but I think we may need to find out." 

He nodded in agreement and continued. "Next I saw a conversation, more like a fight between him and Zebrosia. He was trying to tell her that his Maker was a threat to her. She was laughing and saying she had bigger fish to fry and telling him about you. That's when she asked him to come with her, saying she would take care of his Maker when she returned." 

"Interesting. And now she won't return." I considered. "Why was he a threat?" 

"More pictures and snatches of information tell me this guy was making fledglings left and right. I think this place they were in was some sort of catacomb. Not exactly, but some kind of underground tomb." 

I sucked in my breath. "Describe it to me," I said. 

He launched into a lengthy description of stars and clouds painted on the ceiling, chipped and flaking paint, marble floors, and two grand sarcophagi in the middle of the room. He described scrolling designs of carved wood over the doorway. 

I stopped him. "Describe the coffins." 

He looked at me strangely for a moment and then said, "One was pink marble and the other was jet black, maybe granite. I'm not sure what it was made of." I felt a sense of dread creep through me. Alex cocked his head to one side and said, "Are you all right?" 

"Yes, I think I know where they are." 

"You do? Where? I mean, I was thinking New Orleans at first, since all their crypts are above ground but inside stone. It would seem like  
underground. But then I remembered he probably came from Europe and I was thinking that France has some pretty extensive catacombs beneath the major cities ... of course, it could also be ..." 

I held up a hand, stopping his speculation. "I think they are in Egypt, Alex." 

He stopped and stared at me. "Because of the coffin descriptions?" 

"And the painting and the wood filigree and the portraits on the lids. That is an old Egyptian custom, no longer practiced, I might add." 

He swallowed. Then he gave a quirky smile. "What? You think he's in the pyramids or something?" He laughed then. 

I frowned and he immediately lost his mirth. "No, I think he is in a family tomb of a noble house. Those tombs were arranged that way, with coffins in the center and other rooms where gifts for the dead were left to take on their journey, and other burial chambers for lesser members of the family. Was there a painting on the floor, any hieroglyphs that you remember?" 

He closed his eyes again and tried to conjure the picture again. "There was a blue marble on the floor and painting on the ceiling, sun and moon overlapping, stars all around it. Underneath that there was a picture ..." 

"Oh God, of what?" 

He opened his eyes. "Let me draw it for you. I can't describe it exactly." He rose and left the room, entering my study and reemerging with a legal pad and pencil. He sat back down, resuming his same position as I felt my stomach begin to buzz with anxiety. I held my hands out and I took the pad from him as he looked at me strangely. 

I drew a flail crossed over a crook cross hatching hieroglyph; below that was a name: Tiy Siamun. Siamun meant Son of Amun, a God of the time, and one that was widely worshipped. 

I turned the pad and held it up to him. "Is this what it looked like?" I asked in hushed tone, already knowing the answer. 

His eyes widened and he said, "Yes. Did you take the picture from my head? I didn't feel you ..." He trailed off as he saw my expression, which must have been one of anguish. "Oh, Jesus, Gareth, you really know this place?" 

I nodded, swallowing to get my emotions under control. "Yes, I know the place very well." 

He seemed hesitant to ask but then asked, "Where is it?" 

I sought and found his gaze. "It's my ... family's tomb." 

"WHAT?!" he shrieked, nearly jumping straight into the air off the couch to land on his feet. 

"Tiy was a common name in the Old Kingdom," I recited, my voice much calmer than my stormy emotions. "It was my grandfather's name. He was the Patriarch of the family. It was my name too. 'Sia' means 'Son  
Of'. Amun was a commonly worshipped God then. Our names were fashioned that way, after our Gods or pharaohs. My grandfather, who died when I was young, and later my father, had no love for Hetshupsut, who ruled when I was young and into my early teens. She did not inspire them and they stayed with Amun, as was respectable to do. They showed outward allegiance to Hetshupsut. Not to would have meant death ... but in their hearts, they worshiped Amun." I paused. "So did I, until my Maker turned my heart against him." 

Alex came to me, perching his hip on the edge of the sofa. I squished into the couch as far as I could to make room. I dropped the pad on the floor and he scrambled up, straddling my hips and leaning forward to embrace me. I felt tears sting my eyes in the glow of his comforting gestures. He squeezed me tightly, and kissed me softly on the neck. There was no passion there, a mere gesture to comfort me and share my grief. 

"This 'Other'. I must find him," I whispered. 

Alex nodded against my shoulder. "I will help you. You know that." 

"I know, dear one." I hiccupped on my emotions. "I wouldn't think after so much time, I would still feel ... so much for them." 

He lifted his face and stared into my eyes. "They were your family." 

I gazed at his warm hazel orbs and drew him down into a soft kiss. I released him and said, "They have defiled my family's tomb. Even now, I cannot let that pass." 

He looked away for a moment but it was enough for me to catch his nervous movement. "What is it, Alex?" 

He turned to me and said, "I could be totally wrong." 

"Tell me," I coaxed. 

"Don't you think it's a bit of coincidence that it's your family's tomb he's in? I find that ... unusual." He paused. He held my gaze again. "I don't believe in coincidences," he said finally. 

I nodded, understanding what he was saying. This man was there for a reason. Of all the tombs in Egypt, why that one? There had to be some significance. It meant that this Maker knew I existed. Did he mean to draw me to him? To what end? I really had no idea. 

"Tell me what else you saw." 

The rest of his story unfolded as he rested his head on my shoulder and I cupped the crown of his head under my chin. He had seen a couple of other locations but they were outdoors and at night. From other things, feelings, and snapshots of documents read, Alex determined that this blood drinker was planning a war against Zebrosia. He hated her for some reason, and knew the only way to take her would be to overwhelm her with numbers. Little did he know she was gone and his efforts would come to nothing. Alex sensed something else though, that this was not the total plan. That there was some other purpose for making so many blood drinkers. 

We needed to find out what that purpose was, and we needed to find out ... fast. But now dawn was approaching and we needed a couple hours sleep before rising for our daytime jaunts. I would let him sleep as I plotted while at work. I would have to take a leave of absence. I wasn't worried about that. I had the Director's ear and was sure I could convince him to let Walter Skinner oversee my departments while I was gone. He was already overseeing the X-Files, Violent Crimes and Forensic Units. Bank Robbery and Kidnapping, my main areas of supervision, would be a snap for him. And it would be temporary. 

I nudged Alex off me and took his hand, leading him upstairs to our bedroom. The windowless room was sealed from the outside by an iron door that was faced with wood but weighed about a ton. No mortal could ever move it. I shut us in, plunging the room into blackness. Alex lit a candle, even though our infra vision would show us all objects in relief, albeit with a red tinge. 

We stripped and crawled into bed. It was late, but I was craving his touch. I reached for him and he came into my arms instantly. I whispered, "Alex ... I need you tonight." 

"I'm here, Gareth. I'm always here." 

**PART 5 (NC-17)**  
**KENDALL FAIR'S TOWNHOUSE**  
**GEORGETOWN, D.C.**  
**SATURDAY - 4:00 AM**

**XXXXXXXX**  
**THIS PORTION NC-17**

"I need to be the taker tonight, Alex," I whispered to him, knowing he would understand. When we feel out of control in some area of our lives, it is natural to want to seize it somewhere else. 

He rolled docilely onto his stomach, willing to accept whatever was coming. I felt my love for him wash through me. "You're so good to me,  
Alex." 

He hummed and laid his head sideways on his arms. "You're just as good to me. You were there when I needed you. Now it's your turn." He was silent a moment and then said, "Do what you wish. Take what you need. I'm here for you." 

I groaned and grabbed his hard white globes, compact and muscular but tight between his narrow hips. I licked my thumb and pressed it to his rosette. His flesh gave way like a ripe fruit and soon surrounded my thumb. I wiggled it around, removing it and replacing it with my much longer middle finger. He was open and relaxed as I spread his anal ring, preparing him for my cock, which was throbbing and standing nearly straight up. 

I eased back, lining up a second finger with my index finger and sliding them both into him as far as I could go. He moaned softly, flexing his muscles around my fingers, enjoying the sensation. I worked a third finger in and was rewarded with moans of approval. 

My bone hard cock was aching to feel the smooth moistness of his insides. I straddled his thighs as he lay there prone on the bed. I spread his cheeks wide and pressed the bronze hard helmet of my shaft to his entrance. He grunted as it slipped in, popping beyond the muscle. I could feel his pulse and hear the whoosh of his blood in the tiny vessels, beating out a rapid pump against the head of my cock. I eased back and forth, sinking further each time, feeling my cock harden and swell, growing in length and circumference. He took it in stride, even lifting his hips to push back onto me, spearing himself. 

I sighed loudly as I pushed hard and felt my thick cock sink into his ass. My hands slid under him, cupping his hip bones. His ass was tight and he flexed his muscles again, creating a rolling sensation up and down my shaft as I knelt there panting, fully embedded. 

I loved the sight of my tan skin against his snow white ass. He whispered as I began stroking, slowly at first. "The veins in your cock are so big. Do you know I can feel them when I lay flat like this?" 

I groaned out. "Oh fuck, Alex." I felt my hips speed up without any encouragement from my brain. He knew I loved his dirty talk and descriptions of what I was doing to him in the bedroom. 

"Oh yeah, that marble head scrapes my walls ... feels so good ... a little faster." He raised his head up and got his elbows underneath him, pinching his own nipples. 

"Oh shit," I muttered and sped up a bit more, pulling his hips up to meet my thrusts as I remained squatting behind him. 

I began to ram into him and knew I hit his hot spot when he went rigid and cried out, "Fuck me hard! Let me feel those balls smacking mine!" 

I howled, hissed, and ground my enormous cock into his tight little ass. Then I would stroke into him hard for a minute or so and stop, grinding into him, letting him feel me grow and punch into him a little deeper. 

I pistoned in and out of him like a jack hammer. His ass milked me as he started to come, spraying his load into the sheets. He stayed hard, absorbing the precum that was leaking into his bowels and swelling his balls for a second time. 

I slowed but kept thrusting, feeling his ass tug on my cock as I retreated, trying to hold it in and creating unbelievable sensations that rippled through my whole body. I let loose again and hammered him steadily. I looked down, watching my abdomen tense and release as I drove into him mercilessly, feeling my orgasm approach as my nuts tightened up and the backs of my legs tingled. 

I felt a powerful throb as my cum raced up my shaft, filling it to the breaking point. I let out a low scream, "Ooohhhgggggaaaaaaaaayyyees, **ALLLEEEXXX!"**

I squirted into him, feeling him orgasm a second time, his exquisite ass squeezing me like a velvet vise, so tight it almost hurt. Our swollen balls ejaculated for long minutes as we groaned and shouted. Finally, we were drained and I lowered my heavy body to his back, kissing the nape of his neck. ' 

He smiled and I leaned down to kiss him. The angle was awkward but he turned his head to meet my kiss. I muttered, "I didn't even kiss you first." 

"That's all right. You needed me. I'm glad I could be here." 

I collapsed onto him, grinding my cock into his ass, feeling it deflate slowly. "You're a treasure to me, Alex." 

He smiled softly. "I love you." 

I returned his smile. "I love you too, Pet." 

I pulled out and rolled off him and he curled into my side, letting his head rest on my shoulder. We were quiet, feeling the dawn approach despite our protected womb of a bedroom. 

**XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17**

Sleepily, he said, "What does Tutankhamen mean?" 

I chuckled. The average American only knew of that one pharaoh because of the raiding of his sacred tomb. "It means 'Living Image of Amun'. Amun was the chief God of Egypt then. In ancient times, pharaohs were thought to be avatars." 

He nodded against my shoulder, satisfied. I put my arm down back and snaked it around his waist, pulling him tight against me. "Sleep, Pet. I will have to get up in about an hour and a half, but you can sleep as long as you need to." 

He hummed and kissed my chest and faded almost immediately into sleep. Mine sleep was slower to come, but after fifteen minutes or so, Morpheus claimed me as well. 

**XXXXXXXXXX**  
**HOOVER BUILDING**  
**THIRD FLOOR**  
**D.D. SKINNER'S OFFICE**  
**WASHINGTON, D.C.**  
**MONDAY AFTERNOON**

I watched as D.D. Kendall Fair entered my office. I blinked rapidly. No matter how many times I saw the man, his size would take me by surprise again. I nodded, standing, and held out my hand. He shook it  
firmly and picked up one of my visitor chairs, moving it slightly to the side and sat down, totally at ease, although the chair looked a bit small for him. He rested his long forearms on the arms of the chair. I had closed my Venetian blinds when Kim told me he was coming down, but a sliver of sunlight leaked through the center where the two blinds came together in front of my bay window. 

He smiled. "I've just talked to Director Mullen." 

My eyes widened but I tried not to show any other reaction. "What's this about, Kendall?" I asked, risking using his first name, hoping familiarity ease the blow if it was bad news. 

He grinned, showing perfectly straight, white teeth. I knew he was sensitive to sunlight, but found his moving of the chair a little extreme. I decided not to question it. 

"I have to take a leave of absence." 

I leaned forward, steepling my fingers together under my chin. "Is something wrong?" 

"I'm not sure. I have properties around the world and I've been informed that one of them has been broken into and sacked." 

"Oh no!" I responded, with what I hoped was the proper amount of sympathy. 

"It may be nothing, but I need to check it out." 

"Where is this property?" I asked casually. 

He hesitated but only for a fraction of a second and then said, "Egypt." 

"Egypt!" 

He smiled again, now seemingly amused. "I take it my dark skin didn't escape you, right?" 

"No, it didn't," I chuckled. 

"My extended family lives there." 

"Oh, I thought you came from England for some reason." 

"That's where I lived before moving here, you're right." 

"Quite the world traveler," I said, a touch of envy in my voice. 

"I haven't been to Egypt in years, only lived there a few years as a kid, but when my grandparents died, my parents took over the property there. When they died, it passed to me. I ... couldn't bear to part with it." 

"Family history and all," I said. 

"Exactly. Sentimental me," he said facetiously, holding up his hands in a dismissive gesture. 

"Forgive me, but what's that got to do with me?" 

"Mullen wants you to oversee my units while I'm gone." 

I sat back in my chair, rocked. "What?" 

"Don't look so surprised," he said, clearly amused now. 

"Why me? I mean ... there're other D.D.s more experienced than me." 

"You're the best man for the job." 

Earlier, he had convinced Mullen to switch the X-Files to me when I was promoted to Deputy Director. I'd been the A.D., but Fair had been the D.D. once Kersh had disappeared. I stared at him, realizing he had influenced the Director to give me this assignment as well. It was a great opportunity, if only temporary. I swallowed. "You're Bank Robbery and Kidnapping, right?" 

"Primarily." 

I nodded, feeling butterflies in my stomach. "What would you need me to do?" 

"It shouldn't be bad. I'll set up a meeting for tomorrow so you can meet with all my department heads, key people. They all have assignments and cold cases to pull if they run out of things to do. Mostly, you would only be needed to delegate if something new comes up. I'll give you a list of the Agents and what they're best suited for should some new cases come up. But I trust your judgment." He shrugged, as if this were no big deal. 

"How long will you be gone?" 

"Frankly, I don't know. I've asked for a month. Depending on the damage, I may sell the place." 

Something struck me as odd about that statement but I didn't pursue that either. It didn't track with what he'd said before. However, his personal life was none of my business. 

"Well ... I don't know what to say. Thank you." 

He stood, extending his hand over my desk. "No problem. Thank YOU. I appreciate your help. I'll rest easy knowing things are in your capable hands." 

I nodded. "I appreciate that," I said, thinking he was laying it on a little thick. 

He walked to the door and turned. "I mean it, Walter. Mullen asked me who I  
thought was best for the job ... I said you." 

"Who did he suggest?" I asked out of curiosity. 

He smiled. "He mentioned Jenna Cassidy." 

"She's a good Agent." 

"Yeah, but a lot of my people don't like her. I was afraid of personality conflicts." 

"I see." 

"Well, thanks again. Kelli will have a number where I can be reached if you need me or an emergency comes up." 

"Thanks again." 

"Thanks, see you in a month." 

"Yeah, see you in a month," I repeated. 

He flashed me another perfect smile and slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind him. I sat back down, only then realizing how little noise he made. For a big man, he was silent as a cat. I remembered Mulder and Scully's initial suspicions about him and shook my head. They turned out to be unfounded. And truth be told, he'd turned out to be one of the X-Files' greatest supporters. That had surprised me somewhat, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. I did wonder if he had ulterior motives, but I guess that was the investigator in me, seeing conspiracy and ulterior motives around every corner. 

**XXXXXXXXX**

I made my way down the corridor, quickly returning to my office. Kelli smiled as I passed her desk. "When will you be leaving, Sir?" 

"Tonight, I'm afraid, Kelli." 

She pouted prettily. "You know," she said, stopping me before I entered my office. I turned to give her my attention, only slightly impatient. Most of my duties were finished for the day. 

"What's up, Kelli?" I said, returning to stand in front of her desk, towering over her and staring into her face. 

"We never got to um ... go out on that dinner ... date." She wrung her hands daintily in her lap, her red talons catching the florescent light and sparkling. 

I smiled. "Oh God, I'd forgotten about that. I'm so sorry." 

"Well you cancelled that night because of an emergency and I totally understood, really." 

No, she didn't. 

"But I was hoping maybe we could reschedule sometime. That was over a month ago," she said, sounding just a tad whiny. 

I knew I shouldn't get involved with my staff. I had Alex now and that was plenty for me, although he had made noises about missing being with a woman. Maybe we could make it a double date. 

"Remind me when I get back, Kelli. In the meantime, make sure those lists get to D.D. Skinner while I'm gone. You'll report directly to him. Any Agents that come here, direct them down the hall." 

"I will. You can count on me, Sir," she said, puffing out her chest a little. I found that little bit of flirtation annoying, for some reason. 

"I know I can, Kelli. You're a great secretary." 

She beamed. To myself, I thought, you're fucking window dressing, but hey, everybody can use a little eye candy now and then. She tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder and waved girlishly at me. I slipped into my office, saying before I closed the door. "I just have a few more things to do and I'm out of here. Pass my calls to D.D. Skinner." 

I closed the door on her before she could pursue more conversation. Alex and I were devoted to one another, but we'd made an agreement early on. If one of us felt the need to be with a mortal woman, we would allow that, as long as we didn't hide it from each other. There was really no place for jealousy between us. No one could compare to Alex for me and vice versa. We knew this, but sometimes itches could become full blown cancer sores if you didn't scratch them. 

I knew better than anyone the illicit thrill of hypnotizing a woman and taking her ... if not unwillingly, then unwittingly. Kelli's I.Q. was barely in the triple digits and she was a poor flirt. But there was absolutely nothing wrong with that body. I knew it visited the gym three times a week, the hairdresser twice a week and the nail salon once a week. I knew her hair was dyed platinum blonde and her eyebrows were plucked and she liked avocado face masks. I probably knew more about her than she did. I also know that the natural pheromones I put off made her wet her panties when I got within five feet of her. 

Her smell would drive me wild sometimes and I'd have to restrict my contact with her. On those days, I'd leave as soon as it was dark, race home and fuck Alex's brains out. He would laugh, finally figuring out what was making me so crazy some days. At those times, we would discuss taking a night of outside pleasure. So far, we hadn't done it, but the time was near. We could take her out, the both of us, or we could find someone else for Alex. I knew being around Dana made him horny. 

After hypnotizing a victim, we could choose what they would remember, if anything, so the risk was relatively low. The trick was to go somewhere where we wouldn't be recognized. That left out D.C., Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church or any of the surrounding towns. Unless I just invited her to dinner at the house. That was a possibility too. She would be awestruck by the house in Falls Church. I was quite sure she'd never been in such a lavish home. I smiled at the thought of it. I was still just ego driven enough to like the idea of shocking people with my wealth. 

I signed the few papers that still needed my signature, checked my voice mail, left messages for all the Agents to meet in the Third Floor conference room tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM to brief D.D. Skinner. 

Finally done, I sensed that the sun had gone down. I didn't notice it during the day, but I was less energetic and moved a tad slower, even though the rays didn't penetrate the building. I only noticed it when I felt my full vitality increase as the sun sank below the horizon. 

I got up and pulled my suit jacket on, shrugging my shoulders to straighten it and buttoning the front closed. I picked up my briefcase and did a cursory look around the office, trying to remember if I'd forgotten anything. Satisfied, finally, I picked up my garbage can and walked out, locking my office door behind me and pocketing the key. Not even Kelli or the director had a key to my office. 

I set the can down next to hers, leaving over her and invading her space. She gasped and looked up into my face. Softly, I said, "I need to leave my garbage out here for the cleaning people. No one should go into my office, all right?" 

"Ye .. yes, Sir," she stuttered in a breathy tone. 

"Hold down the fort, Kelli," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I brushed a soft kiss on her forehead and I swear she almost swooned, beaming a toothy smile up at me. 

Her hand went to her breast. "I'll be here waiting when you get back," she said suggestively. 

"I'm counting on it," I replied, just as suggestively. With that, I turned and walked out, not looking back. 

The night air was cool and crisp as I made my way down to the parking garage. I quickly unlocked my car and slid behind the wheel. I sighed, wishing I could just fly home. It would be a lot quicker, but I knew there would be questions about why I left my car here. Too many nosy people around. 

I started the engine and backed out carefully, making my way up the ramp to the street. I broke a few laws on the way home and finally made it to Falls Church. As I suspected, Alex had left the townhouse as soon as the sun went down and was waiting for me at the mansion. 

**PART 6 (PG)**  
**KENDALL FAIR'S MANSION**  
**FALLS CHURCH, VA**  
**MONDAY EVENING - 6:30 PM**

We were almost finished packing. We traveled light, with only a few changes of clothes, some toiletries like favorite soaps, and a huge wad of cash that I took from my safe. I handed Alex $10,000 and his eyes bugged out. 

"You keep that kind of CASH in your house?" 

"It's in the safe," I said casually. 

He stared at me like I had two heads as he watched me shove an envelope with the same amount into my briefcase. "You're crazy." 

"It's only money, Alex. We'll need to exchange some when we get there for Egyptian currency. I have enough for now. They actually take credit cards in Egypt now. Did you know that?" 

"Of course they do. Where the hell have you been?" he asked. 

I laughed. "Not in Egypt for a VERY long time, Alex." 

He sighed. "There are very few places that don't have patches of modern civilization now." 

"I know. I just forget sometimes. I've booked us rooms in Cairo. It will still be a ways to get there from the hotel. We're booked on a tour cruise down the Nile. Then I booked another room in West Thebes. So we're looking at a couple of days travel from Cairo to Thebes." 

"By car or camel?" he asked sarcastically. 

I laughed loudly now and ruffled his hair, loving his irreverent sense of humor. He smiled, liking it when I laughed. I realized I really didn't do it much. 

"We'll have our own transportation," I said and waggled my eyebrows at him. 

He grinned. "And you say I'M incorrigible?" 

"Of course. I'm perfectly behaved." 

It was his turn to laugh now. I loved this banter between us, even in the face of a daunting task like the one that lay before us. I wasn't looking forward to this. I wasn't really scared, exactly, but I was apprehensive. I couldn't account for what I would do if I let my temper get the better of me and I wanted to keep a cool head. No one respects a tyrant. I didn't want them to fear me, but I did need to put a stop to whatever was going on. I felt in my gut that it was not good. 

I would do whatever I had to do. Despite my differences with Zebrosia, there were things we agreed upon. That might have surprised her. Rogue blood drinkers and rogue Makers were two items we both had felt strongly about. It was too bad her arrogance and bitterness killed her in the end. We could have been great together. I felt a pang, but then it lightened as I looked at Alex. I had to let her go for once and for all. My future was standing in front of me. My future was Alex. 

If I got close, I would be able to sense the 'Others,' and I would be able to find this rogue Maker and discover for myself what his plans were. I couldn't make my own plan until I knew what his was. 

I snapped my suitcase shut and Alex hefted his off the bed and followed me downstairs. I glanced at my watch. "We have an hour to make the airport." 

He pouted in an exaggerated fashion. "You mean you're not going to fly us over the Atlantic?" 

I looked at him. "With all this luggage. I think not. I only LOOK this way," implying that he was insinuating I was stupid. 

He laughed again, shaking his head as he followed me after I set the alarm. The house was dark as we threw our suitcases into the trunk. I looked up at the stars and pointed. "See Orion's belt?" 

He looked up and nodded. "Astronomy, too? Is there anything you don't know about?" he asked. 

I turned to look at him, taking my eyes off the stars. "Thirty-five hundred years is a long time to study whatever strikes your fancy," I replied. 

He still looked baffled by the idea that I had lived that long. He couldn't comprehend it ... yet. I slid behind the wheel and adjusted the seat of the Cadillac. He slid into the passenger seat. 

I opened the gates with the remote control and pulled out onto the State highway. We were silent all the way to the airport, each lost in our own thoughts. 

After we checked our luggage and boarded the plane, he finally spoke. "Do we have any idea what the fuck we're walking into here?" 

I looked at him and sighed, stretching my long legs into the aisle. Even first class didn't have enough leg room for me. "Nope. Not a clue. Well, a clue, but that's about it. I'll know more once I find him." 

"Will you confront him directly?" 

"I don't know. We're going to do a little reconnaissance first, though. I want to find out what he's up to." 

"Find some fledglings and see what we see," he suggested. 

"It's a start. They should be easy to find once we are close." 

**XXXXXXXXXX**  
**CAIRO, EGYPT**  
**TUESDAY - 4:00 AM**

We landed in Cairo at 4:00 AM, having timed the flight so we would arrive with enough evening left to make it to our hotel before dawn. We claimed our luggage and a hastily flagged cab saw us careening through the capital city's streets like our ass was on fire. I was reminded of cab drivers in New York City, and it was mildly comforting to know that some things were the same the world over. 

Speaking fluent Egyptian and Arabic came in handy for Gareth. I was fucking lost. I had no idea what this man was saying, but upon departure, Gareth tipped the man generously with his small stash of Egyptian currency and we hurried into the hotel a half an hour later. Our room was paid for. We had reserved a suite with two bedrooms, so our bunking together didn't raise any eyebrows. We were both dressed in business suits. I had carefully applied some light brown foundation make up to my face and hands in the airport bathroom to avoid having anyone notice my unusually pale and smooth skin. 

We were at the Baron in Cairo, a four star hotel that whacked a regular guest $230 a night. I had no idea what we were paying for this suite and didn't ask. I was a little giddy about having $10,000 in American cash in my briefcase. We used one bedroom to stash our briefcases. We pushed the bed to one side, and pulled the desk from the other bedroom into this one, effectively setting up an office and a place to work with dueling desks, a round Formica topped table and straight backed chairs. We rang the front desk and requested several heavy blankets. To my surprise, Gareth produced a roll of industrial strength duct tape and we carefully covered all the windows and the sliding glass doors that led onto the balcony. He shut the drapes over the balcony doors in front of the hung blanket. We now felt relatively safe against the coming of the dawn. 

Our 'Do Not Disturb' sign was quickly hooked on the corridor door handle. Gareth made a call to an 'associate' at the Bank of Cairo and asked him to leave $10,000 worth of Egyptian money in a bank bag at the front desk of the Baron Hotel. He went downstairs and told the desk clerk to produce the envelope from the man from the Bank of Cairo. A little selective hypnosis made the clerk very serious about his task and ensured that he wouldn't dip into the funds. Once safely ensconced back in the suite, we checked out the bathroom, which was luxurious. It didn't compare to Gareth's mansion, but I wasn't complaining. A huge tub, easily able to hold two, was recessed into the floor. On another wall opposite the toilet and sink stood a double shower with dual shower heads. 

We showered, not needing to wash away smell, but relaxing under the warm water and feeling grungy from the long plane ride and taxi exhaust in the streets of Cairo. I scrubbed the make up off my face and hands. We tumbled into bed, more exhausted from anxiety and tension than the coming of dawn. I slept like the dead, no pun intended, and woke as the sun sank below the horizon on Wednesday evening. 

First, we set out for our night time cruise down the Nile River. The riverboat was bursting with enthusiastic tourists and I had trouble blocking everyone out. The noise was astronomical. I found that if I focused on one thing, I could block others out, so I spent my time reading one person after another. A more boring bunch of bozos I didn't think I'd ever encountered. Gareth stood at the rail and gazed out over the fertile valleys and stared at the stars. 

He seemed to be reminiscing and lost in thoughts of days gone by. I didn't want to disturb him but I was feeling quite alone and adrift in this sea of boring strangers. 

He sensed me making my way toward him near the front of the boat as he rested one booted foot on the lower railing. He turned and smiled, his  
teeth glowing in the dark, and he raised his arms, motioning me forward. I came to stand next to him. We were both loathe to give these strangers some sort of public display so we did not touch, per se. 

My hands rested on the top rail and he slid his over so that the sides of our hands touched. It was enough and he smiled down at me. "Where are we going, Gareth?" I asked. 

"The Valley of the Kings," he said quietly. 

I turned to stare at him. "The Valley of the Kings. Are you trying to tell me that your family was royalty?" 

He grinned. "No, we were not descended from pharaohs, but we were nobility, one step below. My mother was a Royal Nurse to Hatshepsut." 

"And she was?" I asked innocently. 

He chuckled. "She was our Queen, Alex, married to Thutmes. My mother was held in high regard. In fact, so much so that my father would rage with envy. He wanted to be part of the royal court so badly. All that pomp and circumstance. I had no use for it, but he aspired to it. My mother, on the other hand, simply did her job in a devoted and loyal way. She reeked of humility and found more respect and friendship in the royal houses than my father could ever hope for with his sense of entitlement." 

"Where do you fit in to all this?" 

He smiled. "I was the seventh child." 

"What significance is that?" 

"I was to go into the clergy." 

I raised my eyebrows and frankly appraised him from head to toe. "With a body like that? Surely you jest." 

He chuckled and punched me lightly on the arm. "I wasn't this big then." 

"You had to be big to have grown to this height." 

"Yes, I was unusually tall, especially for those times. I was considered a giant." 

"How tall were you?" 

"I was six foot, one inch, which at the time was very tall. The average man was only five foot, eight or nine." 

"So what happened?" 

"I did my stint in the army until I was twenty and then I became an acolyte to my Maker. Of course, I didn't know he was a blood drinker then. Most people were worshiping Ra and he was worshipping the Moon Goddess." 

"That cause some strife in the family?" 

"Oh yeah," he said chuckling. 

"Six siblings, wow. I always wanted a brother. What happened to them?" 

"Two brothers, Wahnkh, 'strong in life', and Khusora, 'protected of Ra' were killed in battles. A third brother, Wosret, 'powerful one', became a royal physician, following in my mother's footsteps. He married and had children, grew old and died. I visited him once after I had been steeped in the blood. He didn't know what had happened to me but he knew I was lost to him." 

"Did that bother you?" 

"For a while. I was still young and had my own path to tread. I was angry with my Maker for his lack of generosity and training. It was like pulling teeth to get him to teach me anything. I didn't want to be beholden to anyone, and I thought immortality would be the answer to all my problems." 

"It wasn't?" 

"No, Pet. Not by a long shot. It was the beginning of many troubles." 

"The other siblings?" 

"Ah, my three sisters. Isetnofret was the oldest." 

"What does that mean?" 

"Means 'Isis is Beautiful.'" 

"You guys were really into this God thing, weren't you?" 

He laughed again good naturedly and surprised me by wrapping his strong arm around my shoulder and pulling me into his body. I looked up at him and he smiled. "Go ahead." 

I reached my arm around his back. We stood there, for all appearances like two bosom buddies enjoying the evening. Those around us couldn't sense our closeness. He began to speak inside my head, turning the conversation more personal. 

*Isis was like a second mother to me. My mother, Netikerty, 'She who is Excellent', was often gone attending to the Hatshepsut. She was healthy but my mother made her energizing teas, face masks and groomed her, etc. Isis was the beauty of the family, tall like me, about five foot, nine which was tall for the time and especially tall for a woman. I held the most affection for her. She married one of Ramses sons.* 

_How many did he have?_

_Nobody knows for sure ... around fifty._

_Fifty! What the fuck?_ I couldn't help my exclamation. 

He chuckled again, still looking at the black water sliding away underneath the boat. *They had more than one wife in those times. A pharaoh could have as many as he liked. Of course there was always the favorite or 'first wife'. She would produce the heir to the throne.* 

_There were two more sisters?_

*Yes, Kiya, 'Jovial Lady', was my second sister, and the fourth child. She was playful and full of energy. She became a farmer's wife, much to my father's consternation, but she was probably the happiest of us all. The youngest one, the baby girl of the family, was Miwsher.* 

_Do I want to know what that means?_

_Kitten,_ he said playfully and smiled. 

I smiled at him. _And then there was you._

_Yes, and then there was me, the real baby of the family._

_And a giant._

*Yes, I think my father resented that I was tallest, taller than him, stronger. Then again, he resented everything.* 

_What happened to him?_

*He became abusive in his jealous rages. My mother told Hatshepsut and he was reprimanded and banned from court. My mother was granted separation, what you now call divorce, and allowed to remarry.* 

_Did she?_

*Not for a long while. Then she met a friend of Thutmes'. He was a scholar and read to Thutmes, who couldn't read.* 

_What was his name?_

*Tepemkau, 'Best of Souls'. And he was too, a kind and gentle man that made my mother's last years content and peaceful. I was grateful to him.* 

_Did you visit your mother, after ..._

*Yes, once. I told her the truth, that my Master had promised me many things, but that I didn't think I could stay and take the helm of his church. I no longer believed. I had to leave and find my own way.* 

_What happened?_

He chuckled again. *She cried, told me to be careful and called my Master a pamiu!* 

_What's that?_

_An old tom cat._

I laughed now too. _She sounds like a grand lady._

*Ah, she was. I still miss her, she was so nakhti and pedi, 'strong' and 'wise', in a quiet way, if you know what I mean.* 

_You miss them still._

*Yes, sometimes. Coming here brings back a lot of memories. Some good, some bad. Many things have changed.* 

*I thought scholars had explored and mapped the Valley of the Kings. Of course, there is Tutankhamen's, which yielded the greatest treasure in modern times. It's the only one modern people hear about because it's been on tour.* 

*So you do know some history. The irony is that Tutankhamen was a boy of nineteen years when he died. He only ruled for 8 or 9 years. His tomb is actually very small compared to others. I believe they hastily converted an old half dug tomb for him when he died suddenly. And yes, many tombs have been discovered and looted in the Valley of the Kings.* 

_Many? Meaning not all._

*No, not all. They 'think' they have uncovered them all, but they haven't. The northeast corner has plenty that have not been found. Shifts in the earth and road construction have buried some of them From sight.* 

_I don't remember much. I tended to daydream in high school._

He smiled. _What do you remember?_

*Like I said, not much. I remember studying Tutankhamen and reading something about the Book of Gates.* 

*Yes, modern people discovered the depiction of the Book of Gates on the walls of Tutankhamen's tomb. It was the first time they had seen it, but it was hardly the first time it was depicted.* 

_I don't remember what it represented._

*The nightly journey of the Sun Gods through the world of the dead. They traveled by boat and were towed through by lesser deities because there was no wind in the world of the dead.* 

_You believed all this once, didn't you?_ I asked, hearing the slight astonishment in my voice and not being able to picture Gareth as a devout Egyptian clergyman. 

He looked up at the stars and sighed. *Once, I believed many things. But years have a way of making the truth change. Within a decade of being Steeped in the Blood, I no longer believed in much of anything.* 

*I'm sorry. I know what it's like to have your entire belief system turned on its head and shredded to bits.* 

He hugged me closer to his side and I didn't resist him. Who cared what these people thought? *I know. I saw scenes from your life when I steeped you. The blood lust nearly blinded me, but I still saw.* 

I smiled, shivering slightly, remembering that night that started the whole process. Still armless, scared shitless and yet so enchanted with him that I couldn't resist him anymore. I snuggled into his side and he held me tight, one hand still on the rail, the other around my shoulders. _What was your name?_

_My name?_

_Yeah, back then, what was your name?_

_I was called Heruben._

_What's that mean?_

_Resplendent Sky._

_Hence your interest in astronomy?_

He grinned at me. *Only partly. I think the Sky part came because I was so freakin' tall, people had to look up to the sky to see my face.* 

We stood in companionable silence as the boat slid down the river toward Dendern. We arrived and docked there, departing the barge and finding a small hotel there for tourists that took the Tour of the Nile. We locked ourselves into the tiny room, blocking the light of the one bathroom window and slept through the day. We rose at sunset and made our way to Karnak where we purchased some linen shirts and heavy sweaters that were more suitable for the desert at night. During the daytime, the temperature could rise to 120 degrees. I shuddered at the thought. But nighttime in the desert was chilly, regardless of the season. 

We changed clothes, tucking our worn ones into a knapsack he'd brought with him. He swung it over his shoulder and we ducked out of sight, taking to the air and flying to Luxor on the east side of the river and then heading due west, where the Nile narrowed. Gareth was confident but I was a little leery of crossing the water. 

He reassured me and we took off again. The flight across the Nile was relatively short and uneventful. Uneventful in this case being a good thing. We slept another day in West Thebes, on the other side of the river. We rose again at sunset and headed into the south east corner of the Valley of the Kings. 

**PART 7 (NC-17)**  
**VALLEY OF THE KINGS**  
**SOUTHWESTERN EGYPT**

We touched down lightly in the sand of the desert. I looked around, even with my preternatural eyesight not being able to see any signs of life for miles. 

"We are far from the popular, uncovered, tourist attraction tombs. They are much further north." 

I nodded, not questioning his judgment, just finding the lack of activity and the utter quiet a little disconcerting. 

"Open your ears and tell me if you hear anything." 

I closed my eyes and threw my senses to the winds. I heard nothing, but felt a small tug in my chest and gasped and opened my eyes. He was peering at me intently and nodded. 

"Was that it?" 

"Yes, you felt one of the 'Others'. They are here. Or some of them are, anyway." 

"You felt more than one?" 

"Five." 

"Jesus." 

"We'll be all right, Alex. We're not talking an army of Zebrosias here. We're talking an army of David and Pierres." 

"I know, but we could still be overwhelmed by numbers." 

"It's possible. But we would be able to handle five, even if they were strong, and ... they are not. I sense it." 

"Where are they? In your family's tomb?" 

"No, in a tomb near to it, though. We'll have to move closer before I can read them. Tonight is about information gathering. I am in no mood for a battle just yet." 

I sighed with relief, not really realizing just how nervous I'd been until I felt the tension wash out of my body. He smiled at me. "Let's go, we run from here, due north." 

I nodded and followed him as he took off in a blur, zipping over the sand with unbelievable speed. As fast as I was, I still wasn't as fast as him, and I could tell he was holding back so I could keep up. He didn't seem to mind or be in a hurry, but we didn't want to waste the evening walking the sands. 

He put up his hand to signal a stop and we glided to a halt in front of a rocky outcropping that jutted up out of the sand. He walked at a normal pace around the base of the rocks. I reached out with my senses and could now feel the five separate, small tugs in my chest, indicating that other blood drinkers were near. I wondered how much more sensitive he was than me. Zebrosia had fed her images to him. I'd received some, but most went to Gareth. I wondered if it imbued him with still more power that I didn't know about. He halted suddenly and I stopped behind him. He pointed and I could see the blasted entrance to a tomb, the doorway having been reinforced from falling debris, and the door was obviously new. 

It was recessed into the side of hill and we hiked up to the left and above the doorway where we found a small plateau. *Are you cloaking your mind?* 

_Yes, do you think it's necessary?_

_Probably not, but it can't hurt._ He sat down in the sand and I sat next to him, neither of us making even a whisper of sound. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. I mimicked him and smiled. _I'm going to listen now._

_Whither thou goest ..._ I said, as I had said before. 

We closed our eyes and concentrated on the reaching out to the blood drinkers. I found them with surprising ease, once focused on my task. 

*One at a time, Alex. I'll take the three on the left. You take the two on the right.* 

_All right._ I reached out again, concentrating, and could feel the location of the tugs. Locating my two subjects, I picked the one closet to me and gently nudged his psyche with my own. He didn't even flinch. I knew he had no idea I was there. 

I slipped easily into his mind and could read his thoughts. As it turned out, we didn't really need to. They were discussing their Master. 

"He's crazy. He had no idea what he's up against," one of them said. This one seemed to be the leader. I sank into the boy's mind and looked out of his eyes. 

The speaker was a tall kid, maybe six feet, but he couldn't have been more than twenty years old when he was made. They were all under twenty five. The boy next to my subject spoke. "Did you ever meet them, either one of them?" 

The leader replied, "I met Zebrosia, and he's just plain whacked to try and fight her. She was so fucking old, man. It was like she was made of marble, for Christ's sake." 

The boy whose eyes I was borrowing spoke. "I'm scared. Have you heard the legends?" 

"Of Heruben?" a third boy asked. 

"Yes," said borrowed eyes. "He is supposedly nearly as strong as Zebrosia, nearly as old. According to the Maker he is ... formidable." 

The boy next to Borrowed Eyes asked, "Do you think he will come?" 

"He might, but I don't think things will go as Master plans." 

"What do you mean?" asked the boy who had yet to speak. 

The leader looked at him. "He's counting on this Heruben to help him. He thinks he is going to be a partner in this crime. I'm telling you, Roseman is crazy. He thinks he's going to create so many of us, he can form his own kingdom. Then what? If we kill off all these humans, how do we live?" 

"He says we can feed on animals," one of them offered. 

"Yuck," said Borrowed Eyes. 

"I think we need to tell him that we are not with him. I don't think I can do this. I don't WANT to do this," said the boy next me. 

"He'll kill us all." 

"Maybe. And maybe I think that's preferable. I didn't ask for this, you know. I didn't want to be a fucking vampire! I was a Christian! Now I kill people to survive! I'm going straight to hell. This is so messed up! Jesus Christ ..." 

"He can't help you now," one of them joked. 

Leader gave him a dirty look. "We need to talk to the others. If enough of us rebel, maybe he'll see that he can't do this." 

"I doubt anyone is going to change his mind." 

"I hate this," the quiet one said. "I just want to die." 

Gareth nudged me. *I've heard enough. Sink into his memories. See if you can find this Roseman, this Maker.* 

I sank deeper into the boy and scanned through thousands of images at the speed at light. I finally stopped on one of a tall, dark haired blood drinker, broad in the shoulders, small in the waistline. His hair was long, down to about the middle of his back. He wore it tucked behind ears that were oddly pointed at the top. He was standing in front of a coffin made of a shiny material, pink in color. He lifted the lid and smiled and hopped inside. I was sure this was a memory and in fact, not happening now. I took in the details of the room for later reference. 

I retreated gently and moved on to the other boy. I saw a similar image, not of the Maker but of the pink coffin. This time though, I saw a wall and the doorway to a burial chamber. Above the door there was a heiroglyph. 

I retreated and waited patiently while Gareth scanned our other three guests. He finally blinked and looked at me. _What did you see?_

I described the blood drinker, his odd ears, his shiny coffin and the doorway with the inscription. _What does the inscription mean?_

He swallowed hard. _Sit-ra. Mother fucker will die!_ he nearly screamed in my mind. 

I put a hand up to my ear as though I'd heard him scream out loud. It was an instinctive gesture, as in my mind, it had made me flinch. He reached for me instantly, folding me into his embrace. Softly, he said, _I'm sorry, Alex. I'm so sorry._

_It's all right. What does that mean ... Sit-Ra._

_It means ... Daughter of Ra._

_You know this place?_

*And that sarcophagus. It belongs to my mother, Alex. That mother fucker is in my mother's sarcophagus! Where is she! Where did he put her!* 

I felt a wave of his grief roll over me and I held him tighter, trying to comfort him. *We'll find her, Gareth. I promise. We'll find her and we'll put things back to rights. Is the tomb close?* 

*About a mile. I think we should hide there and wait for him to come in to sleep.* 

_It will probably be near day break._

*I know, but we'll be all right underground. We may need to sleep there later if push comes to shove and it's too close to dawn. But I don't care about that. I've got to find my mother. That fucking piece of shit!* 

He stood abruptly and I stood with him. _Where to?_

_I've got to find her._

_Let's go back to West Thebes._

_Changing your mind?_

*I want a fresh start, Gareth. Let's sleep today and come back tonight and go straight to the tomb. If there's anyone in there who's against us, we'll destroy them. It's that simple.* 

_Sounds like a lot of them are here unwillingly. Why do they stay?_ he wondered. 

_Probably the same reason you hung around._

_Hoping to learn how to survive._

_That'd be my guess._

_Jesus, Alex. This is a mess._

I took hold of his hand and squeezed it. *I know. Let's go now. Let's not rush in like fools. We should have a plan.* 

_Of course you're right. I'm just so mad right now._ I could hear him grinding his teeth. 

_Don't ruin those beautiful chompers on me, Gareth._

He turned a sad smile my way. _I can't destroy my teeth._

_I know, I was kidding. Come on._ I tugged on his arm. *Let's get to the hotel.* 

He nodded and I stepped onto his feet and wrapped my arms around him in the familiar position. He shot into the air with less effort than a bird and we raced toward West Thebes. Less than a half hour later, we touched down a small distance from the hotel and ran the rest of the way on the foot. He slowed as we turned the corner on the hotel's street and we walked sedately the rest of the way. 

Without a word, we crawled into bed. There was nothing left to say and a million things to say. We both needed to sleep and we both needed to ponder. We crawled in and he spooned up behind me, holding me gently. _Thank you, Alex._

_For what?_

*Being here with me. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you. I almost lost my mind back there. I don't know if you realize how ... close I was to racing over there.* 

*I wouldn't have blamed you. And I would have been right on your heels.* 

_I know._ He squeezed me tight and I relaxed into his big body. *I love you so much, Alex. I don't know if you realize what having you with me means to me.* 

_I think I do. I'm glad to be with you too._

He swallowed and kissed my shoulder. *I was alone for so long. I ... need you so much. I love you.* 

_I love you too, Gareth. Try to get some sleep._

Now I was being the logical one, suggesting a plan and comforting him. This was a switch. I liked it though, knowing I was useful and that he did need me. I felt more like his partner than ever before. He was furious, but conceding to my logic of forming a plan. No matter what he said about overcoming these weak ones, I worried about running into a nest of them and getting overwhelmed. 

We were powerful beyond my wildest imagination, but so was Zebrosia and we had finally taken her down. Granted, we were both nearly as strong as her, but still. The point was the same. As powerful as we were, we were not invulnerable, or invincible. We could be overtaken if enough of them were to descend on us. I vowed to make sure that didn't happen. If we had to destroy them, we would do it a few at a time. Too many of them could be a disaster. I didn't share his confidence. 

I drifted off into troubled dreams, but while I slept, my subconscious was plotting and planning what to do next. 

**XXXXXXXX**  
**THEBES HOTEL**  
**WEST THEBES, EGYPT**

I woke slowly, with an unusual sluggishness. My fury had exhausted me. Although slow to wake, I felt somewhat refreshed. Thank the Gods for Alex. I was just now remembering that arrogance and anger were what brought Zebrosia down and allowed her to be trapped between the two of us. At the time, I remember thinking, 'good lesson in that.' 

Now, a mere twelve hours earlier, I'd been about to do the same thing, rushing in full of anger and arrogance. There was no telling how many fledglings there were. My foolishness could have gotten us both killed if we had run into an army of them. No matter how strong we were, enough blood drinkers could overwhelm us. We could only paralyze so many. Hypnotizing mortals was notoriously easy. One blood drinker could hypnotize another but it took much more strength and finesse. Truthfully, I didn't really know what my limits were. 

They'd never been tested and that bothered me. I had a sinking feeling that I would have to draw upon abilities that had lain dormant for many decades. I could not allow this rogue Maker to continue producing fledglings. First of all, the more fledglings you made, the weaker they were unless there was years intervening for your blood to regain strength. There were too many for him to have waited long between Makings. 

**XXXXXXXXXX**  
**THIS PORTION NC-17**

I was broken from my reverie as I felt Alex flex his hips against my ass, grinding his sizeable erection between my cheeks. Our lust for one another never seemed to dim. Sometimes it was fierce and violent. Other times it was slow and gentle and all about comfort. But it was always, underneath the lust, all about love. 

I reached back and pulled my cheek to the side. I didn't have to look to know he was smiling. He shifted behind me and I felt a drop of his saliva hit the crack of my ass and slide down. Then the pressure of his rod sent pleasant chills through me as he nudged his way inside. 

He panted gently behind me, one arm snaking around to pinch my nipple, starting to thrust gently and work his way inside. His cock was large and like mine, hard as marble. 

I groaned and pushed back, encouraging him to go deeper. He didn't hesitate but pushed harder and thrust faster, forcing another inch or so in with every stroke. Once embedded, his swollen nut sack pressed to mine, he stopped. His tongue came out and licked my neck. I heard him hiss and felt a his fang prick me at the base of my neck. 

I jolted and moaned loudly, feeling an electric sizzle run down my spine. He licked quickly at the drop of thick blood that appeared as my skin healed and closed almost immediately. I whispered, "No one's ever done that before. It felt so good, Alex." 

I felt his chest rise and fall against my back in a lazy chuckle. He began to thrust again and I felt the tip of his fang pierce my skin. His rough textured tongue would lick the drop of blood and he would shiver. Then he would do it again in time with his thrusts inside. 

Thrust, prick, lick. Thrust, prick, lick. 

I began quiver, feeling my body grow warm under his erotic assault. His arm left my nipple and traveled down to wrap around my cock, now standing proud and pulsing with want. He managed to keep up his rhythm and stroke me at the same time, although he slowed a bit to keep all these activities in motion. 

He really was quite the talented little shit wasn't he? I groaned heavily again, feeling him speed up and grow inside me, finally punching into my hot spot. I hissed and howled with pleasure and began bucking my ass back into his pelvis, driving him as deep as he could go. 

In an embarrassingly short time, I was howling and ejaculating into the sheets, feeling my balls contract harshly with every squirt of semen. My ass clamped down on his turgid member and he shouted, "Oh fuck, YES!" 

His orgasm had begun. I felt the warmth of his seed coat my inside walls and begin to fill me. My balls swelled again and I felt a second orgasm hit me on the heels of the first. 

He rammed into me until we were both spent and panting. Then he just lay there, his warm breath cascading over my neck and making me tremble. As he deflated, his penis slid out of me and I clamped my ass shut. 

There were many ways to exchange blood, but this had to be the best! I rolled onto my back and scooted out of the wet spot, now more like a puddle on the sheets. "We may have to clean these sheets ourselves. Otherwise, they'll wonder what the hell we're doing in here." 

Alex laughed and said, "Yeah, maybe we should stick to sex in the shower." 

"Or next time we can 69," I suggested, realizing we rarely did that. 

He grinned and leaned in to kiss me tenderly. Our lips brushed back and forth over each others' mouths. He suckled my bottom lip a bit and pricked it with his fang. He shivered as he licked the drop from my lip. "Greedy little one," I teased. 

He was totally unrepentant as he stared up at me, showing his dimples. His smile faded. "I love you, Gareth." 

"I love you too, Alex." 

"We better get moving. We have a long night ahead of us." 

"We certainly do." 

**PART 8 (PG)**  
**VALLEY OF THE KINGS**  
**TIY-TETI FAMILY TOMB**  
**SOUTHWEST EGYPT**  
8:00 PM 

"Holy smokes," Alex exclaimed as he looked around at the walls. We were only in the entrance to the family tomb and he was already ogling the walls. Normally I wouldn't have been able to wait to show him the rest, but I was afraid of what we were going to find. 

A little hasty reconnaissance told us the tomb was currently empty. I found that a little disconcerting for some reason, having expected to find someone here. I was sure there would be visitors before the night was through. On our way across the sands to the tomb, we'd encountered another group of about ten fledgling discussing rebellion. Seemed their fearless leader was not inspiring the loyalty he hoped to find. 

We stayed hidden and cloaked from them, dressed all in black and hiding in shadows. The up side of running into them was that we found out that Roseman had summoned them all to a meeting at midnight. We still had four hours to scout around before we needed to be hidden in the tomb. I wanted to take no chances and be here waiting when the first of them arrived. 

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Wow. That was the only word that came to mind as I looked around the burial chamber. First there was the long hallway leading into a front chamber. Above the entrance I saw the inscription I saw in my vision. Next to that was another reading that he said was the words, 'Ptahhotep.' 

_What does that one mean?_ I asked, pointing to the second inscription. 

_Ptah is content,_ he answered solemnly. 

_Who is in these sarcophagi?_

A pink marble sarcophagus rested next to a black granite one in the center if the room. The high vaulted ceilings made the room seem immense. Paintings were on the ceiling of stars and clouds, depicting the times of the day, and the sun's movements through the sky. 

He pointed, _My mother was in that one._ He indicated the pink marble. Moving his hand to indicate the black granite, he said, *Her second husband was there.* 

_Your father?_

*He is in another chamber with my grandparents and my brothers that died in war.* 

_What about the other siblings?_

*They carved out tombs of their own for their own families. My mother and her husband were the last laid to rest here.* 

I looked around again, noticing the painting on the wall and the pillars strategically placed throughout a room the size of two basketball courts. 

He strode to the pink coffin and looked down at it. There were signs of recent disturbance. The chamber had been cleaned and the surfaces gleamed. He placed his hands at the edge of the coffin and slowly pushed the lid to the side, revealing only about six inches of the inside. It was enough to tell that it was empty. He slowly replaced the lid, swallowing hard and moved to the other one. He did the same and we found that one empty too. 

I watched his jaw clench. I whispered, "We will find them, Gareth. As soon as the bastard can be immobilized, we'll rip his head apart until we find out what he did with them." 

He nodded. His calm control almost a little eerie, he led me through a panel at the back of the chamber and down another long hallway. He stopped and I saw an archway on either side of the wall. He turned left first and entered another chamber. This one was painted also, but not so lavishly and the ceiling was bare. Depictions of all the constellations lined the wall. It was smaller but contained three coffins. 

Above the arch was more inscriptions. Gareth told me that one said, 'Satsobek Ankhesenamun' and 'Menmaatre'. I turned to Gareth for translations once again. 

"Daughter of Sobek, She lives in Amun' and 'Eternal is the Justice of Re'. Those inscriptions were for my grandparents. My father was laid out in that third coffin against the wall." 

I could tell it had been added to the room. It looked awkward and unbalanced the room which was otherwise brilliantly designed. Gareth opened his father's coffin and found his mummy inside. He sighed and gazed at the yellowing linens. I stared in fascination. The mummy lay inside holding a flail and crook crossed over his chest. Gareth quietly slid the lid back into place. When he opened his grandmother's final resting place, he sucked in his breath. 

I peered around his shoulder. There was not much room to maneuver in here. I could see that a second mummified body had been dumped in, face down on top of the first. 

Gareth hissed in rage. I didn't have to ask who it was. He carefully let the lid slide to the floor, propped against the edge of the coffin. He moved to the final one and slid the lid back finding the same results. This dumped mummy was heavier and quite a bit taller than the petite body I'd seen in the first one. I could only assume this was his step father. 

He turned to me and I could see the tears shimmering in his eyes. "He will die for this," he whispered, his simmering rage evident. 

I met his gaze and nodded and then I said, "Let's put them back." 

He shook his head a moment as if not comprehending, then an evil smile lit his face. "He will find them when he goes to bed down ..." 

"He will know we are here," I finished. "We will be waiting. We will stay hidden until then. I have a feeling most will leave after the meeting. A few may remain, but until we know how many we are dealing with and what their loyalties are, we need to be careful and only take on a couple at a time." 

"I agree. I have a feeling most of these fledglings were made unwillingly, but having nowhere else to go and no one else to teach them, they had no choice but to stay and do his bidding." 

"It's all speculation at this point," I added. 

His bottom lips quivered. "Help me," he said quietly and moved to take his stepfather's body from the coffin. I slid into place at his feet and we gently turned him onto his back. 

Dust and bits of linen fell from his body. I cupped my arms under his legs gently, afraid to dislodge something essential. We walked slowly down the corridor, careful not to brush against the walls. He felt light and fragile in my arms and I hoped I didn't do anything to hurt this shell. 

To me, it was only a shell. I think Gareth knew it too. The soul of this man was long gone. But this mummified body was a symbol of a life well spent. And like a modern day grave, it was a tribute and a place to come and commune with the dead or remember them in life. Disturbing this site was not so much a sacrilege, per se, as neither of us believed in these ancient Gods. However, it was a grave insult to the family and to Gareth in particular. It would be like digging up a grave in modern times and desecrating a body. 

The lack of remorse that entailed was a mystery to me. Personally, I'd often thought that nothing should have ever been removed from these tombs. Even Tutankhamen's tomb, which was a treasure trove that now belonged to the world, I would have rather seen stay intact and become a tourist attraction, than dismantled and sent in pieces around the world. 

We reached the main burial chamber and carefully lowered Thutmes' mummy to the floor. Gareth slid the lid back enough to allow us to replace him inside. We squatted and carefully raised him again, setting him down gently inside. Another puff of dust rose from the remains. We both ignored it. Gareth reached inside and tucked a few stray lengths of linen under the body, and we slid the lid back into place. 

We repeated the process for his mother. He took more care with remains, fluffing the pillow of silk inside under the head, carefully arranging any stray linen, and smoothing the silken coffin lining. To my surprise, he leaned forward when he was done and placed a butterfly kiss on the forehead of the corpse. I shivered a little and looked away. I wasn't really grossed out, but I couldn't imagine touching my lips to those ancient rags. I realized he didn't see it that way, though. This was the former vessel of his mother's soul. He might not believe in the Gods of his childhood anymore but he believed in souls and this was his small way of paying tribute to the woman that had given him birth. 

I found tears stinging my eyes. We carefully replaced the lid. He stood there with his hands on the lid for a long while and finally looked at me. "I'm sorry." 

"For what?" 

"Getting all sentimental." 

"It's all right. Perfectly understandable. I envy you in some ways." 

He chuckled sadly. "How's that?" 

"All this history ... preserved for so many years. This was a truly amazing culture." 

He smiled at me then. "Don't you have a history?" 

"Not really." 

"You must." 

"Oh, a vague one. My parents were Russian Jews, cold war immigrants, chased out of Moscow during World War II. They went to Germany and then to the United States." 

"Where do you fit in?" 

"I was born in America, a first generation American. I didn't speak English until I was seven years old and went to school. My older brother, Ivan, was born about 15 years before me. I was an 'oops'. He was killed in a later uprising in Russia. I never really knew him. My whole life I wanted siblings. The one I had, I never got a chance to know. I never met him and he was dead by the time I was five. My real name is spelled, A-l-e-k-s-a-n-d-r." 

"Russian spelling?" 

"Yes. I had it legally changed to Alexander when I was old enough. Oddly, at the time, I didn't want the distinction of being a foreigner. My parents would never speak of that time and I never pushed it. Now, I wish I had." 

"What does it mean, Aleksandr?" 

"It means steadfast," I told him. 

He smiled affectionately now and cupped my face. "Well, you have certainly been that for me, my Alex." 

I kissed his palm and he drew me into his arms. I hugged him to me, comforting him in silence as he stared at the grand sarcophagi. He finally stepped back and we returned to the chamber and replaced the lids on his grandparents' coffins. We went across the hall and checked that chamber, containing two coffins. His brothers were still inside. 

We replaced the coffin lids and he sighed. "Well, it looks like our rogue Maker only defiled my mother and second father's grave. I guess he doesn't want a lot of company." 

"He must have some, or why disturb both of them?" 

"Good question. You didn't see anyone else when you drank from Pierre?" 

"No one specific, just flashing faces, lots of them, no one that stood out. I assumed they were the faces of the fledglings." 

"Did you count?" 

I frowned. "No, I didn't, but let me see if I can now." Another odd ability that emerged was this photographic memory. I'd envied Mulder his memory as long as I'd known him. Now mine was eidetic for both words and pictures. I pulled the scenes from my memory banks and played them again behind my eyelids. As the faces flashed now, I counted. There were males and females, some were a little older, but I would say most of them were between 17 and 25, in the prime of their lives. 

When I finally finished, I whistled softly. Gareth was standing patiently, asking the question with his eyes as I opened my lids and caught his gaze. I swallowed. "I counted sixty." 

He mimicked me and whistled as well. "Yeah, a few too many to take on all at once, eh?" 

I laughed. "Depends on whether they are fighting back." 

"Yes, I suppose it does. Are you suggesting most would fight with us rather than against us?" 

"Some would, anyway. I couldn't take a guess as to how many, though. There are obviously plans afoot to overthrow their leader, but who knows how widespread it is? If he's made all of them, they must be incredibly weak. Each one gets weaker if you make them close together. I wish I knew how big this rebellion was." 

"Or if it's even possible. We have no idea how strong he is." 

"True, maybe his idea was overwhelm with numbers rather than strength." 

"Could be. Or it could be he's just a selfish, irresponsible, SOB that got hooked on the blood lust." 

I smiled. "I think there's more to it than that." 

"I'm sure you're right. I just feel like being petty right now." 

I chuckled at him now and said, "Are there more chambers?" 

"One other in the back. It has no coffins, only a storage space for treasures we left to be carried with the dead to the next life." 

I followed him quietly as we made our way back down the rear corridor, passing the two archways and continuing to the end, another twenty or so feet down. We passed through another archway, ducking to get through this one without banging our heads. The other passages were huge with vaulted ceilings. This one, however, had an opening that stood only about six foot high, which was low compared to the rest of the tomb entrances and doorways. We ducked in and the blackness was more complete. Fortunately, the ceiling was about seven feet high once through the doorway. 

It was only then that I realized how much light was reflected off the marble floors of the front burial chamber and the white walls of the other chambers. I let my eyes adjust, watching my vision fade to tint everything red and then coming back into focus. Infra vision was one of the coolest things! I could see in pitch dark. How good a thing was that for a guy like me? 

It was a small room in comparison to the others, maybe only twelve Feet square. The walls were lined with shelves. A few bits of pottery and such were scattered around. Otherwise, it was relatively empty. It had been looted of anything of any value. 

Gareth hung his head and I stepped behind him, wrapping my arms around him in silent support. His hands slid over top of mine. His body rolled with one sob of emotion and then he turned, pulling me to him. His nose fell to the crook in my neck and I held him. He backed to archway, braced his back against the door jamb and slid his legs forward until he was only a bit taller than me. I stepped between his legs and we embraced again. We stood that way for a long time. 

Finally, he spoke. "I don't know why this bothers me so much. I know they aren't really here. And I know now that you can't take material things with you when you die. But ... it was my family, Alex. Some were good, some were bad. I hated them and loved them. But they were my family and this was their tomb, a tribute to them and the lives they led. Now it's been defiled. That hurts me ... it angers me." 

"I know," I whispered in his ear. 

"It's more of an insult than anything else. He obviously knows I still exist and he desecrates and loots my family's tomb. I can't let that insult go by without some sort of repercussion. I just can't." 

"I'm not arguing with you," I said softly into his ear. 

He held me tighter. We rested this way for a long time, no need for words, just drawing comfort from each other. I was so glad that we were together. I'd waited my whole life for someone that I could love. Despite our one fight over honesty, I trusted him. He'd been forthcoming ever since and I believed he was sincere in considering me his partner, not his sidekick. He truly had seen how his withholding information had hurt me. It had scared me too. 

I was dependent on him to teach me, though not so much now. I knew I could survive on my own, but there was still a lot for me to learn. I'd been so afraid of having to keep him in my life without trust. That would have been like all my relationships before and I was way past the point of being able to tolerate the subterfuge. It was necessary where the Consortium and its plans were involved. But in my personal life, I needed that trust to balance out the cloak and dagger. I needed a relationship I could relax in and count on and not feel like I had to watch my back. 

I didn't even realize how much I needed it until I had it ... and then almost lost it. Feeling that slip away had been so frightening. But he had admirably redeemed himself. Unless he gave me a reason not to, from here forward, I would trust him. 

**PART 9 (R)**  
**TIY-TETI FAMILY TOMB**  
11:30 PM 

I felt the slightest tension creep into my body and I listened hard. Then I felt it, the tug on my psyche that told me there was another blood drinker near. I took Alex's hand and we backed out of the archway and sank into the darkness of the room. We listened as he opened the outer door, pausing. We were still and cloaked our minds from him. He was reaching out into the tomb to see if he detected the presence of others. 

He didn't, and I sighed internally. We had successfully cloaked ourselves from him. This was a great advantage of strength. I carefully lowered my barriers, didn't feel him probing, and settled in against the wall to wait. 

We could be still as statues when we wanted to be. We listened to him moving about the tomb. I didn't know what he was doing. I just hoped he didn't open those coffins until later. I didn't dare take the risk of probing his mind. Not yet. I would wait until he was distracted. I was very good, but there was always the off chance that he would feel me trying to get in. I didn't want to put him on alert yet. 

I heard papers shuffle, even from this far away. We might as well have been standing in the room with him; we could hear him that well. I heard a clacking sound, like wood hitting wood, and wondered what it was. 

Alex nudged my elbow ever so slightly. Immediately, I felt them ... more blood drinkers. We stood in silence and darkness as they began to assemble in the main burial chamber. They arrived in twos and threes, sometimes four at a time. Finally, at 11:55 PM, they had apparently all arrived. I'd been counting as they arrived. 

Alex spoke to me telepathically. _I count 46._

_Me too._

_That means some are still missing._

*Maybe. They could have been killed since you saw their faces in Pierre's blood, or they could have been dead already.* 

_I didn't sense that._

_No, but it could be true._

A silence suddenly descended on the crowd and I assumed this Maker had signaled that he was about to begin. 

"Where are the others?" he asked. 

So there were more. 

A young fledgling answered. "I think they are on their way." 

"I said promptly at midnight," the leader answered, his tone laced with anger and condescension. "What?" he asked, apparently responding to someone's reaction. 

"It's not quite midnight yet, Master." 

"Five minutes until midnight. They should be here early like the rest of you, but I suppose if they want to follow my instructions to the letter, I can't fault them for that." He paused. "Oh, now it's only four minutes. I'll give them four minutes." 

The crowd assembled waited in tense silence for four minutes. It was broken when this Roseman, pronounced Rose-A-Mun, finally spoke. 

"They are fools and they will pay for their disobedience." 

_This guy's on a big power trip,_ Alex ventured. 

_You think?_ I teased. 

I could see his smile, tinged red by infra vision in the stark blackness of the room. 

The man seemed to have the undivided attention of the crowd. No one was stirring and no one else was talking. No murmuring like you would normally hear in a gathering of this many. 

"I've called you here tonight for a reason. We are sixty five strong." 

_Guess Pierre missed meeting a few._

_Or they weren't made yet when he left._

"I have calculated that we could be one hundred and not unduly tax the human population in the area." 

_How does he figure?_ Alex said sarcastically. 

"This means that I need your help. We need to find 35 young people, no younger than 16 and no older than 25, to join us." 

"Find them?" someone asked. 

There was a cold silence. "Yes, Rake, FIND THEM. I want you go out in pairs and find a candidate and return him or her to me. I've compiled a list of partners here which I will read momentarily. Since your friends have failed to show, some of you may need to find more than one candidate." 

_He's fucking crazy,_ Alex said. 

_Apparently._

_We can't let that happen!_

_We won't. I haven't figured out how yet, but we won't._

*Maybe we can follow them and protect the candidates, wipe out the pairs two at a time.* 

*23 pairs. Too many to follow all at once. Most of them are bound to succeed before we could get to them >* 

_That means that we have to stop them from leaving._

We stopped talking, as Roseman was speaking again. 

"Once we are the appropriate number, we will need to go out and eliminate the leaders of the world. This is the ultimate plan. I will dispatch you in groups of five or six, so that you are sure to have the upper hand should you be set upon. Killing the world's leaders, one by one, in rapid succession by carefully placed groups should throw the world's civilized nations into panic. This is the perfect climate in which to seize control. Key members will be sent to assume positions of power. Hypnotizing enough people to make this happen shouldn't be a problem. As weak as you all are, you're still individually stronger than any human." 

_Not stronger than me,_ Alex taunted. 

I frowned at him and he receded. This was no times for jokes. He looked slightly wounded and so I draped my arm across his shoulder. Alex wasn't really joking to be obnoxious. I knew that. He was a bit nervous and this always caused him to become sharp with his tongue. I hoped to break him of that habit of lashing out. He was doing better, but he was still learning, despite his enormous strength for someone as young as he in the blood. 

"We have a priority list, of course, for those leaders which are the most important. For those jobs, I may send a group of ten. Yeltzin in Russia, Bush in America, and Yassar Arafat in Palestine are all on the list." 

_Jesus,_ I reacted, shaking my head in disgust. 

"Yes, Ismael?" he asked one the attendees. 

"What about Heruben?" 

Alex and I both straightened. We knew that this Maker was probably strong enough to see us no matter how fast we moved. But the fledglings probably weren't. 

_I think it's time to make an entrance,_ I announced. 

_Are you sure that's wise?_

*No, but I don't think I can listen to this nonsense anymore and now that I've been mentioned ... move as fast as you can and go around the rear of my mother's coffin. I'll stand behind Thutmes'. I can tell he's standing in the middle of the coffins.* 

Alex nodded, willing to follow me even if he didn't think it was a wise idea. I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. 

The leader spoke, "I think if he was going to show up, he would have by now." 

"Do you think that means Zebrosia killed him?" 

We moved with lightening speed down the corridor, around through the archway, leaping over the heads of the assembled blood drinkers and landing at the sides of the coffins, where we kept moving until we were at the heads of the coffins, behind this leader. Several fledglings, including the Maker, felt the breeze of our passage, obviously unnatural in this contained tomb with no access to the outside other than the entrance. 

We stopped at the same time, materializing behind the coffins. I wondered at the picture we made as we appeared suddenly, both exceptionally tall, dressed in black jeans, boots, belts and turtlenecks. 

A collective gasp rose from the crowd. I could sense their fear. Roseman slowly turned to look over his shoulder to find not just me but Alex and I scowling at him. "You came," he whispered reverently. I nodded, giving nothing away. "I'm so glad. I'd given up on having you join us. You are Heruben, are you not?" he asked. 

_May I?_ Alex asked. 

_By all means,_ I answered, continuing to stand with my arms across my chest and looking down with an intimidating glare on the leader of these poor creatures. 

Alex said, "You may not be glad in another minute or so." 

The smile left Roseman's face and he swallowed. "Why? I knew you would hear of us and come. Our first order of business was going to be to eliminate Zebrosia. She was a tyrant and we know how you two hated one another." 

I startled him by saying, "So you thought you would become a tyrant in her place?" 

He frowned. 

Alex added, "At least she confined her tyranny to the blood drinkers and didn't inflict it on the world at large." 

Roseman showed signs of agitation now. "You speak as if she is no longer with us." 

I nodded. "And you're wrong ... I loved Zebrosia." I raised an eyebrow. "And I killed her anyway because I didn't agree with what she had done ... and I needed to defend myself." 

Another collective gasp rose from the crowd. Roseman backed up a step but then straightened his shoulders, holding his ground. No one from the crowd dared to interrupt. 

Alex said, "So if he loved Zebrosia and killed her anyway ... you can imagine what he does to people he doesn't like." He smiled one of his dazzling smiles with all the teeth. 

*Easy, Alex. We're still way outnumbered here. We don't know what we're dealing with yet. They are weak, but they are many.* 

There was silence for several moments and then he said, "You killed Zebrosia?" he asked. 

"Yes," I said simply. 

I let the implications of this sink in. I was surprised when Alex whispered in my mind. *Don't tell him I helped. Just let him think you were stronger than her. They obviously feared her.* 

I glanced at Alex and felt gratitude for his loyalty seep into me. *I don't want them to fear me.* 

_I think you want this one to fear you._

"Why?" Roseman asked. Quickly he added, "Not that I'm not happy about that, I am. Very happy. That's why we have gathered so many, because we knew she would need to be overwhelmed ..." 

He trailed off at my stern expression. "You have not gathered these fledgling here. You made them all, didn't you?" 

He swallowed and admitted, "Yes, I didn't see any other way." 

"How about waiting to see if I won? You obviously knew that she was coming for me." 

"Yes ... I'm sorry, I didn't think there was a chance in hell anyone could beat her, not even you ..." 

"That was your first mistake," I replied calmly. 

"Why did you kill her? I thought she just meant to confront you, not destroy you. All she said was she needed to settle a dispute. She wouldn't say what that was. Did she try to kill you?" 

"I think she planned to, but she tried to kill Alex. So I killed her." 

His gaze finally slid to Alex, giving him a more thorough inspection. Alex stood at least three inches taller than him. He squinted his gifted eyes, peering at Alex's skin and realizing how strong he was. 

His eyes widened when comprehension dawned on him. "Heruben is your Master," he replied quietly, stunned that I had taken one to me. I knew my reputation for being a loner. 

I answered. "Alex is my partner ... in all things," I answered, letting the implications of that sink in. 

I knew the minute it dawned on him just what I was saying. Alex didn't answer to me. He was not my flunky or side kick. We were a team, an impossibly strong team. 

Alex let one knee relax, taking his weight on one leg, adopting a seriously negligent pose. "Let me tell you something." 

He had Roseman's attention now. "I've never heard of you!" he said, almost raising his voice. 

Alex smiled. "You will listen to me anyway," he said softly. The threat was evident in the tone of his voice. 

Roseman nodded. 

Alex swept his hand over the crowd. "If you had attacked Zebrosia, you would have doomed all these poor creatures to death." 

"We could have overwhelmed her." 

Alex shook his head, clucking his tongue. "You never would have gotten that close. Did you know that she could start fires with her mind?" 

I saw many eyes go round in the crowd. These poor saps knew nothing of vampiric abilities. Alex pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket. He shook it out and crumpled it into a ball, tying the ends around it so it wouldn't unravel. He casually tossed it towards Roseman. 

As Roseman raised his hands to catch it, Alex ignited the cloth and it burst into flame inches from his face. Roseman yelped and leaped backwards to avoid the spray of sparks as the handkerchief fell to the ground. Alex looked at it, made it flare once more and then it died, leaving a pile of ash on the marble floor. 

He slowly raised his head to look at Roseman who was now gripping the edge of my mother's coffin. Alex said, "She would have ignited your little army like Roman candles and there wouldn't have been a damn thing you could do about it." 

_Your turn,_ Alex warned me. 

"Then she would have taken to the air, out of your reach." 

I slowly lifted off the ground, rising to hover inches below the twenty foot ceilings. I rose slowly to show that I wasn't jumping. More gasps were heard, a few murmurs. I had to give the Maker credit. He cringed, obviously impressed, but he held his ground. His eyes darted from me to Alex, not sure who to watch. 

_Leap up, Alex._ I scooped up Alex as he took two quick steps and leapt with all his strength. Alex gripped my hand, and the toe of his boot rested on top of mine. The rest of his body, held rigid by his superior muscles, was suspended to the side of mine, making it look like we were both hovering. They couldn't tell that I was holding Alex up. More gasps and I said to Alex, _Jump down._

He nodded and his foot slipped off the toe of my boot and he sank to the floor, landing gracefully on his toes, making no sound. His knees bent to absorb the impact and then he stood slowly, straightening out. I descended next to him to give the illusion that we had flown separately. This was something so outside the fledglings' realm of comprehension they were frozen with fear now, wondering if we were going to ignite them. 

Roseman couldn't fly. I knew this instinctively, but he did know it could be done with age and strength. He must have seen Zebrosia do it. So this was another ability he'd kept from his fledglings. They'd had no idea of the danger he had planned to put them in. 

He turned to look at Alex with a new perspective. I scanned him gently and heard his thoughts. 'He can't be as young as I thought at first. He is too strong to be younger than I. Why have I never heard of him?' 

I surprised him by answering his questions that he had asked himself inside his head. "I kept us cloaked from Zebrosia. She didn't know of his existence for a long time. It allowed him to grow strong. I knew we would have to deal with her eventually. She wouldn't show herself to give permission to me to have a companion so I did it secretly." 

His eyes widened and focused on me again, realizing that I had read his mind and he had felt nothing. He shrunk in on himself a bit more. I nodded in acknowledgement of his conclusion. "Yes, that means you can't lie to me, Roseman, so don't even try." 

"By Amun, you are strong. I've never experienced such psychic stealth." 

I didn't respond. 

Alex said to me, *I think it's time we address the rest of the plan here.* 

I frowned grimly. "You will not carry out your plan to kill world leaders," I pronounced, getting right to the point. 

He stiffened and stood proudly. "Why not? We could rule together! The masses would be so afraid of us, they would do our bidding without a second thought. It could be glorious!" He pronounced, his voice quivering with the fervor of a fanatic. "Now that Zebrosia is gone, nothing stands in our way!" 

I locked my gaze with him. Alex spoke, "We stand in your way, Roseman. Will you try to kill us too? Will you sacrifice all these lives to have the power you want?" 

I found it interesting that none of the fledglings, not even one, was interfering in this exchange. It made me wonder if any were loyal to him. _Alex, scan them. Find out if any are loyal to him._

He nodded so slightly, I doubted anyone saw it but me. I turned back to Roseman. "We will not rule together ... ever." 

He swallowed. "But surely you can see how easy it would be." 

"It would be a disaster. Zebrosia was a fanatic, just like you. She ruled by fear. That doesn't inspire loyalty, Roseman, it inspires rebellion. Just as she inspired rebellion in you." 

"This would be different! We would be ruling humans!" 

"NO!" I thundered. Even he cringed at the volume of my voice. "You asinine little twerp. We need humans to survive. You start wiping out every human who defies you and soon there would not be enough to keep us alive. Zebrosia was a tyrant, but her rule of numbers was sound. We must limit our numbers. No one should be alone without companionship, but we cannot multiply like rabbits. It is counter productive to our survival. Our greatest defense is that humans no longer believe we exist! You IDIOT! Revealing ourselves to the mortal world at large would be signing the death warrant for our race, because mortals are more cunning than you give them credit for. They would find a way to destroy us. Talk about being overwhelmed by numbers! What the hell were you thinking!" I was furious now. 

"We wouldn't kill them all!" he declared. "We wouldn't have to. Just rule them. They wouldn't dare fight us. We wouldn't just rule the human race, we would rule our own! Don't you see?" 

"No one will rule but me! Zebrosia passed her crown to me as she lay dying. Why do you think that is? She told me 'you are now the King'." I paused and took a deep breath, reining in my fury at this one's arrogance. He had no answer for me so I continued. "Because I am the oldest now. I have lived through things you can't even imagine. You may think your plan is sound, but it's not. Your plan will destroy us all. I won't allow that to happen. We must remain secret." 

I noticed several fledglings moving to one side. *What are you doing, Alex?* 

*Moving those who are not loyal to him to one side. There are about fifteen that are still loyal to him, even though you've frightened him. They still believe they can overcome us with numbers.* 

_What do you plan to do?_

_That's up to you, Gareth._

**PART 10 (R)**  
**TIY FAMILY TOMB**  
**VALLEY OF THE KINGS**  
**SOUTHWEST**

I nodded. Roseman was focused on me. Although he glanced back, he didn't pay much attention to the slow movement of his fledglings as thirty-one of them moved to the left, and lined the back half of the wall of the chamber at Alex's gentle telepathic suggestion. They were tense and knew something was about to happen. I could tell by their faces that they also knew that they were being spared somehow and were filled with relief. The fifteen remained behind the coffins, staring at Roseman and glancing nervously at the others that were lining the wall on both sides and behind them. 

"We can work this out," Roseman said. "I can't fight you personally, I know that. You're much too strong. But we can compromise! I could be your ... lieutenant." 

"As Zebrosia was your Queen ... " I hesitated, hating to have to assume this responsibility, but knowing there was no one else who could. "I am your King. And you will obey me or you will be **DESTROYED!"**

He flinched but stood his ground, glancing behind him and finally noticing the division of his troops. He hissed to all of them inside his mind, 'Attack him! All at once! On three! One! Two! Three!' 

_Alex, you take the left, I'll take the right. Torch them._

His loyal followers leaped forward. Alex and I caused fire to enfold their clothes and shoot up to the ceiling. They squealed and flailed their arms. A few kept coming, only to collapse like dominos before they could even reach us. Roseman turned and stared at the piles of ashes on the floor. These young ones hadn't stood a chance. He was still arrogant enough to think he did. He scowled at the ones lining the walls and hissed, "You dare to disobey me!" 

He tried to send a wave of force to knock them to the ground. Alex sped to their aid. As his trail of force slid across the wall, Alex moved in front of the fledglings, taking the hit from his assault, his much stronger body absorbing the blows. He jerked a couple of times when a particularly strong surge hit him. I knew it hurt him somewhat but not terribly. 

He stopped and then sped back the way he came as Roseman tried again, throwing his psychic wave in the other direction, much like we would use telekinesis to move objects. He was trying to move his fledglings, or crush them beneath his power. But he could not move Alex. He was too strong to be pushed over or out of the way. The fledglings caught on and pulled together in a small knot, rather than spreading out, making it easier for Alex to protect them. 

I was infuriated that he was being this arrogant, this stupid and that he was willing to sacrifice all these fledglings to his own survival. I'd had it. I roared, "ENOUGH!" 

My hand and my mind lashed out at him. He was lifted into the air and flung backwards until he slammed into the wall, ten feet off the ground and dropped in a heap to the floor. 

He lifted his head feebly, looking at me in astonishment. I was showing him how much stronger my mind was than his. I done to him what he'd tried to do to his fledglings. The fledglings were staring in awe. I hadn't even moved from the place where I stood and I had flung their leader across the room. 

"You have one last chance, Roseman. If you agree to take one companion and disappear, I will let you go. If you do not agree..." 

I let the implications sink in. "I am not a tyrant, Roseman. I am fair, but I will not tolerate little Napoleons in my midst. Do I make myself clear?" 

He nodded. "Your plans and your scheming are done. You are forbidden to steep anyone else in the blood for the rest of your life. You've already made too many. You are far too irresponsible. Do you understand?" 

"You mean for me to be alone?" he croaked as he levered onto his knees, starting to recover. "You would forbid me as Zebrosia forbid you?" 

"No, I said you could take one companion, ... if any will go with you." 

"There ... there are others!" he announced in a last ditch effort to fight against Gareth's announcements. 

"I know. There are nineteen more and I will find them too, just like I found you." 

He looked surprised that I knew the number of others. He knew it was true. He was the strongest of this group and we had found him. It hadn't really taken much effort either. I nodded in answer to his silent question. "Yes, I feel you all. I know exactly how many of you there are." 

This wasn't entirely true, but he didn't need to know that. There could be ones in remote parts of the world that I couldn't feel. However, as the days went by, I could feel them more strongly. 

In a fit of insanity, he leaped to his feet, rising several feet in the air as he lunged toward me. 

My arm shot out, moving so fast it blurred and met with his face. He was jolted backwards and fell on his back to the floor. "You idiot. You are WAY out of your league. Haven't you figured that out yet?" 

I scanned him easily. 'There has to be a way to kill him,' he was thinking. 

I answered once again. "Oh there is a way to kill me Roseman. But you're not strong enough or man enough to do it. I dare say Alex is the only one in the world who would stand a chance against me and his loyalty is unshakeable. Now that I think about it, you will tell me what you want me to hear, but I read the lies. You will never stop trying. You will never give up your quest for power and I can't have it." 

Alex whispered in my mind, _Don't forget your parents._

_I won't,_ I replied. 

I tilted my head to the side and strode toward him. He shrank away from me but I easily lifted his scrawny frame off the ground and towed him to the side of my mother's coffin. My rage burned through me. I slid the lid of the coffin half way off with one hand and tilted his head down by pushing on the back of his neck. 

"Netikerty. Remember her name, Roseman. She Who is Excellent, something you will never be! You defiled my family's tomb, you animal. You moved my mother for your own bed. HOW DARE YOU!" I roared. "I gave you your one chance and you blew it. Now you DIE!" 

He hissed and tried to wrench out of my grasp. It was hopeless for him. I seized his hair and yanked it back. My fangs sank into his neck as my other arm reached around him to pull him tight against me. 

He jerked and spasmed in my arms as I pulled hard, draining him quickly, feeling his erection against my thigh. Alex stood quietly, watching. None of the others dared to interfere. I broke the suction of my mouth and leaned him over my mother. I let a few drops of blood fall to her mummy in tribute. Then I yanked him back and finished draining him. 

His eyes were glassy and vague as I retracted my fangs and looked at his face. He was defeated and knew it. The urge to hurt him was overwhelming and he was not dead yet. I kept hold on his clothing at the back of his neck, pulled him back from me and gripped his collar in the front. I ripped the shirt right down the middle, shredding it and causing it to hang off his frame. 

His slightly tanned skin and surprisingly well defined muscles were in my view now. I smiled evilly at him, bent him backwards over my free arm and chomped down, sending my fangs deep into his breast. He screamed as I pulled the coagulated blood from his skin. I could feel his heartbeat growing slower, struggling to beat. I knew he was in immense pain. Being drained by another blood drinker hurt, but it was also euphoric. Having the steeped blood sucked from your skin was agony. I didn't want him to die in euphoria. 

Alex had suckled from my breast, but only in the throes of passion was it bearable and erotic. And he only took small amounts ... little sips, not enough to drain the skin. I was draining him dry. As the cells began to empty of the blood, the intense pain came, as the skin collapsed and died. 

Logically, I knew that his pain would not mend my own, but I was still angry enough to want him to hurt. He howled and screamed in pain as I sucked him dry in about a minute and a half. 

I dragged his dry husk behind the coffins and toward the back wall. His head hung limply, his scraggly hair a tangle around his head. I dropped him to the floor. 

I stared at him for a couple of moments, feeling his blood sing in my veins. He'd been a little older than I thought, maybe three centuries old. It didn't matter anymore. I'd seen all the pictures of his life. Even as a mortal, he'd been cruel and unhappy, inflicting his rage on others. Zebrosia had told him where my family's tomb was. So there was one more transgression that was now avenged. 

Now he had died with my rage inflicted on him. I took a step back and concentrated slightly. His body burst into flames. The heat and tendrils of fire shot high into the air, burning fiercely and quickly. He was soon a pile of ash. 

I finally returned my attention to the others against the wall. I saw Alex walk to my mother's coffin and look inside. Oddly, he crossed himself and slid the lid closed with reverence. Then he looked up at me and walked to me. I took him into my embrace and he leaned his head on my shoulder. 

The furtive glances of the fledglings seemed to soften at this show of affection between us. I ruffled his hair and smiled at him as he pulled his face up to look at me. "You did what you had to do, Gareth," he reminded me, sensing my inner turmoil. 

Here I'd been condemning him for his anger and lashing out at others and I'd just done the same thing. Should I have shown him mercy? 

"No!" Alex stated emphatically, having read my thoughts easily. My guard was down now. "He would never have stopped. He may have laid low for a while, but he would never have stopped." 

Someone cleared their throat and stepped forward from the knot of fledglings, still standing near the far wall, not daring to interrupt. I shifted my attention as Alex backed out of my arms to stand next to me. It was a young girl. I guessed she was probably 18 when she was made. She was less than a decade old in the blood. Her long blonde hair fell to her waist in luxuriant waves. "Yes, little one?" I asked. 

She looked down but then bravely raised her gaze to me and stood at her full height of five feet, one inch. Good gracious, she must have been a tiny mortal. She said, "Heruben ..." 

"Gareth. Please call me Gareth, little one. That is the name I choose to go by now. Nobody has called me Heruben in centuries." 

She nodded nervously. "Gareth, then. What is to become of us?" 

They all turned to me for guidance and I felt the weight of my burden. I had somehow maneuvered myself into responsibility for 31 fledglings, maybe more. 

"I'm not sure yet. Your name is ...?" 

She looked surprised that I would ask and then I realized why. 

"I do not read your mind needlessly, little one. We only do that when necessary. It is an invasion of privacy and holds a responsibility. Power, such as you all have, comes with a responsibility." I paused. "Part of that responsibility is NOT to abuse the gifts you have." 

"I am Sabrina," she introduced herself. 

They all nodded, warming to me, realizing I was not just one tyrant replacing another. "I've a feeling that your Maker kept many things from you ... about what you are capable of ... and more importantly, what you are NOT capable of." 

She smiled. "We were pretty much on a need to know basis only," she replied sarcastically. I smiled widely at her as did Alex and she beamed back. 

"I have at least three more weeks here before I have to leave." 

Another stepped forward. "I am Seti. Where do you make your home, Master?" 

I cringed. "Let's start with this ... I am not your Master. I don't wish to be called that. It implies that I own you, and I don't." 

They all looked surprised at this. Another stepped forward. "I am Christa. Sir, we are used to being owned. We know no other way." 

Alex interrupted now. "I think we need to train them, Gareth. We need to teach them to survive and what to do to protect themselves and the race as a whole. They probably know nothing of the 'little drink'. They probably know nothing of their speed and the actual strengths they possess." 

I nodded. "We will show you another way. There will be rules." They stared in silence. "There will be rules that I will not tolerate being broken." 

I saw the fear return to their eyes. "Relax, young ones. I am not Roseman. I am not a tyrant. I will not just give you rules to have power over you. I will explain the reason for them. You will be paired together in twos or fours, as you wish. If you have trouble deciding, Alex and I will decide your compatibility. That person is to be your partner in life, in survival. Everyone MUST have a partner. No one survives well alone. Do you understand?" 

They all nodded. "Where do you sleep?" 

Sabrina answered. "All over the place. Mostly in abandoned tombs in this Valley." 

"Some of you may need to relocate. We need to spread ourselves across the world. This serves us in several ways. One is that it lowers the risk of discovery. It's much more likely that fifty blood drinkers will be discovered than two." 

They nodded, not seeming rattled by the prospect of moving. 

"Many of us were brought her from elsewhere," Sabrina said. "Or taken while we were here visiting. He liked to grab tourists. This way he could pump us for information on other parts of the world, leaders, governments, etc." 

I sighed. "Look, there are only two hours until dawn. Time grows short. Let's go back to our resting places for tonight. We will meet here tomorrow night. First we will find a place to train ... not here. Then we will begin training and teaching you. Once that is done, we will begin figuring out where to place you. I will make sure you have comfortable living arrangements wherever you go." 

Sabrina asked, "How will you do that? Most of us are broke. He took all our money, our clothes, everything. He was selling it to have money for things he needed, buying information, and other things." 

"Do you know where he kept it?" 

Seti answered. "I do. In a crypt not far from here. He took from the storage of this tomb as well." 

"I saw that," I said grimacing. 

"We will retrieve whatever is left and it will be given back to you. I also am a very wealthy man and I will get you set up and started." 

They nodded. Sabrina said, "We will be most grateful ... Gareth." 

Christa stepped a little closer. "We must have a title for you, Strong One." 

Alex smiled, highly amused at this. He suggested, "How about you call him your King?" 

They all nodded. I scowled at Alex and this brought a few chuckles. "Gee, thanks." 

More titters and chuckles. "We are young and lost, Strong One. We do not wish another tyrant in our midst, but we do need a leader or we will perish as surely as we would have in a battle with Zebrosia." 

I nodded. "My ancient family's name was Tiy-Teti. You may call me Gareth Teti. And I suppose, if you wish, you may call me your King. I promise to do the best I can for you. I did not come here expecting this. I thought I would I would need to destroy the lot of you." 

Sabrina spoke again. "There are nineteen others ... the ones that didn't attend tonight. I've a bad feeling they were plotting against Roseman. We were scared for them." 

"Can you find them?" 

They all nodded. "Bring them with you tomorrow. We will all introduce ourselves tomorrow. I will need your knowledge of the area and a large place where we can train, perhaps an unfinished or abandoned tomb. I've no wish to defile anyone else's family resting place. I haven't checked you all, but if you have removed anyone from a sarcophagi to rest yourselves ... put them back. I will bring supplies so I can house you until we find a place to relocate you." 

They nodded. I noticed a couple of nervous looks and knew these were the ones that had defiled some other tomb. But I also knew they had probably done it out of desperation to avoid the coming of the sun, not because they wished to cause harm or insult. I took note of which faces they were and would check on it later. I would give them a chance to correct the wrong. 

"What time tomorrow?" Seti asked. 

"How long does it take you to get here after rising?" 

"The farthest away could probably be here in an hour." 

"What time do you rise?" 

They seemed puzzled by this. I added, "We are strong. We probably rise before you do. We do not feel the dawn or the sunset as keenly as you do." 

They understood now. "About 7:30 to 8:00 PM, I guess." 

"We'll meet here at 9:00 PM, then. This will give you time to contact the others." 

"I'm glad the others didn't show up," Christa said. 

"Why not?" I asked. 

She gazed at me. "Roseman would have killed them." 

"For being late?" I asked incredulously. 

She nodded. "That and he would assume they were against him. He was paranoid." 

"He had good reason to be," Alex said. 

She nodded. I glanced at them all. They would all come tomorrow. There was still some apprehension. They could not trust me yet and I was a much bigger threat than even Roseman had been, considering my strength. 

"No one will be punished for arriving late," I reassured them. "However, if they refuse to show, tell me who they are and where I can find them. I will meet with them privately and convince them to come. I understand their fear. They don't need to fear me, but they don't know that yet. And neither do you, but I assure you, I have your best interests at heart." 

They all nodded. 

"One last thing." 

I had their complete attention, feeling buffeted by feelings of fear mixed with relief and hope that oozed out of them. "You will obey Alex as you would obey me. He was trained by me and he is wise in the ways of survival and hiding in the mortal world. He can teach you much. If I am to be your King, then Alex is your Prince." 

_Or Queen,_ he joked privately. 

I had to clench my jaw so as not to laugh. It was a private joke I wouldn't want to share at this point. 

They all nodded. "He will not harm you either. As you saw, he protected you. You all were chosen because we could read you and knew that you were not loyal to Roseman. You were only here out of fear, desperation and the fact that you had nowhere else to go. The others ..." 

Alex interrupted. "I'm sorry if they were your friends. But they were loyal to Roseman, even after hearing and seeing Gareth. As you saw, they tried to attack. We couldn't allow it." 

They all nodded. Seti said, "We were segregated into groups, ones that were loyal, ones that were here out of necessity. They were no friends of ours." 

"Go home now, while you still have time. We will see you all tomorrow." 

They filed out of the burial chamber into the corridor that led to the entrance to the tomb. We followed behind them, watching them glance back at us nervously. It would take a while to gain their confidence. I hoped to do it quickly. As they all filed out, I turned to shut and bolt the door to the tomb. 

_Cover it with me,_ I said to Alex. 

They all stood in silence and watched as Alex and I used our minds to blow the heavy sands of the desert into a huge pile until the door was obscured from the mortal eye. We turned to look at them and said, "We will uncover it again before you arrive tomorrow. I don't want anyone stumbling onto this place in the meantime." 

Alex climbed into my embrace and we waved gently at them. "Until tomorrow," Alex said. 

I shot into the air and heard the gasps of surprise behind us as we disappeared from view, speeding back to our hotel room in West Thebes. 

**PART 11 (NC-17)**  
**THEBES HOTEL**  
**WEST THEBES, EGYPT**  
4:00 AM 

"We have a couple of hours, Gareth," I said as we settled into bed, still wired from our adventure this night. 

It had not been a battle such as the one with Zebrosia and for that I was glad. We weren't out of the woods yet. We still had nineteen blood drinkers to check out and then the training would begin. 

I was tired from the mental gyrations but keyed up too, and unable to completely relax just yet. 

"What would you like to do, Pet?" Gareth asked me, the hint of a tease in his voice. 

I kissed him, pulling his hard body against mine. "I want you to make love to me." 

"Again?" he teased. 

"Yes!" 

"Greedy little chit, aren't you? You just took me when we woke today." 

"I know but this time, I want you to take me," I answered, reaching down to grasp his hardness and stroke him firmly. 

**XXXXXXXXXX**  
**THIS PORTION NC-17**

He moaned and kissed me deeply, pulling my chest flush with his. He rolled on top of me, crushing me into the mattress and grinding his pelvis into mine. 

My cock was pulsing, pressed into his hard abdomen and leaking precum into his navel. His lips slid over my neck, his skin warm from the blood he had taken from Roseman earlier. My skin felt cool against his, and the contrast was stimulating. 

His lips worked their way down my neck to my nipples. His hands slid under my shoulder blades and cupped the top of my shoulders. I lifted my legs, exposing myself. One of his hands came between us, grabbing me and jerking me hard. I groaned and felt his cock find my entrance. Without warning he jammed inside me, his cock sliding deep. I hadn't quite been ready and my ass felt virgin. It hurt slightly, just enough to be erotic to me, and I moaned again, not caring about anything but the feel of his smooth monster gliding in and out of my ass. 

His lips came back to my neck and I felt his fang prick my neck. I shivered in delight. He grunted and hitched up further on his knees, lowering his head and sinking his fangs into my pec, his short teeth biting away at my nipple. 

Oh GOD! It burned, it throbbed. It fucking hurt! And I felt my own cock ache and grow between my thighs. He pushed into me hard and sucked at my nipple, his tongue licking the drops of blood that seeped out. His pulled his fangs out and licked the skin. It healed immediately. 

He pulled out suddenly, his cock glistening with the moisture from my ass, a foot long and wider than a soda can. My head spun whenever I saw it. He pawed me roughly, flipping me onto my stomach. I went to raise on all fours, but he pushed me into the mattress, lowering his chest to my back. His cock rested on my rosette. 

I knew some of his roughness was just him, and some was his tension from the night's activities. We both needed to get it all out. 

"Do it, Gareth. Fuck me, you big bastard. Make me scream." 

He was merciless, punching deep in one harsh stroke, hitting something deep inside me that made my whole body go rigid and then melt into a puddle. His chest pinned me to the bed as he rode me hard, pumping and groaning, pressing my cock into the sheets. 

I bit the pillow under my head to muffle my screams. I didn't want hotel management coming to investigate. There were no sound proof walls here like at home. 

I was burning all over, my balls were boiling and my dick was throbbing in need, scraping on the sheets with every thrust. I moaned loudly and then screamed into the pillow with every brutal thrust that made me mad with lust. 

He was hammering me with all his might, which was considerable. I knew my anus was now a smooth, taut ring, forming a funnel for his unyielding monster cock. He sped up, still drilling my ass on the full length of his cock, which was bigger still. 

He grabbed me around the waist and rolled suddenly. I found myself facing the ceiling. His hands gripped my hips and pumped me up and down on his cock. My knees bent to the bed, straddling his enormous thighs and pressing my cheeks together around the huge circumference of his cock. 

I lowered my elbows to the bed next to his chest and began riding him, spearing myself harshly, lifting as far as I could and slamming down, feeling my ass burn and sting as I increased the tempo. 

Finally I heard him groan and begin washing my insides with his hot sperm. I hollered some intelligible sound and began spraying my own chest and stomach as my balls contracted and moved my jism with incredible speed up my cock. I felt my own ejaculations hit my face with a force that stung. 

I opened my mouth to scream in ecstasy and felt a stream of come land on my tongue. I hollered and swallowed. Every hard full thrust of his cock produced another ejaculation for me. My balls were huge, bulging under my shaft, taut and burgeoning with fluid. I felt his come spray out around my cock as my bowels filled and now it had nowhere else to go. 

I must have sprayed twenty times before collapsing onto his chest. We panted quietly for a bit and then I rolled off him, turning to place my stomach and cock in his face. I lovingly began licking the sperm from his stomach that had escaped and then took his cock in my mouth, sliding it deep into my throat, feeling my cheeks and esophagus puff out to accommodate him. 

He moaned and took me in his mouth, cleaning me as I cleaned him, and then licking my ass and balls and stomach until there was no more to clean up. I turned around to straddle him and lowered my chest to his. 

**XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION.**

"That was fantastic, Alex," he muttered. 

"Yes, it was." 

"Sleep now, we need it," he instructed gently. 

I nodded against his chest, placing a soft kiss on his chest. I fell asleep that way, wondering if we could really teach all these fledglings to be responsible, honorable blood drinkers. I hoped so. I hated the thought of having to destroy any more of them. 

Those that were destroyed had deserved their fate. That didn't make it any easier. Killing was never easy. Even if it was an adrenaline rush and a high at the time, later it haunted you, making you feel abusive and grandiose somehow. 

I didn't enjoy killing and I knew Gareth didn't either. But as always, we would do what we needed to do. 

He whispered, "We'll rise as soon as we can. I want to make some contingency plans before we meet with them." 

"O.K., wake me when you rise." He always rose before I did. I was strong, but due to my young age, I still needed more sleep than he. 

"I love you, Alex," he whispered. "You were magnificent today." 

"I love you too, Gareth. You were the magnificent one. You will be kind to them. They will worship you." 

"I don't want them to worship me." 

"They will at least respect you. And I'm afraid there is no avoiding it. Some will worship you. After their suffering at the hands of Roseman, they will find a benevolent leader in you. You will seem grand and noble in their eyes." 

"Seem noble? I'm not grand and noble?" he teased. 

I chuckled. "Of course you are. I know you didn't want this, Gareth. But there is no one else. You must do this." 

"I know." 

"And I must do this." 

"You don't have to, Alex." 

"Of course I do. We are a team, are we not?" 

"Yes, and I'm more glad than I can possibly express." 

I fell asleep and dreamed. In my dream, Roseman's ghost appeared in the Tiy-Teti family tomb. He reverently approached Netikerty's sarcophagus and laid a blood red rose in the center of the pink marble lid. He leaned in to kiss the lid and then his ghost departed the tomb. 

**XXXXXXXXXX**  
**THE END.**   
  


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